Kate Middleton broke royal protocol this week twice and nobody noticed – is this a sign of a more relaxed monarchy?

Many might be surprised to hear that Catherine, Princess of Wales might have actually fell foul of royal protocol this week – TWICE. Normally the picture of perfection, Catherine’s breaking of some long-standing rules included a choice of hairstyle that is thought to be against one of the late Queen Elizabeth’s opinions on how royals should present themselves. The second grievance is a peculiar one – as she spoke candidly about her pregnancy, something it’s been said a royal shouldn’t do.

• Princess Kate technically broke royal protocol this week – twice. But this might actually indicate a wider change for the Royal Family as King Charles lets go of long-held traditions
• Kate’s infractions include her choice of hairstyle for an event, and talking candidly about her pregnancy
• In other royal news, Pippa Middleton’s throwback raspberry wrap dress is perfection – and it has a very special connection to sister Kate!

Well, well, well. Catherine, Princess of Wales is often viewed as the picture-perfect royal, very rarely putting a foot wrong. But all of that seems to have changed this week as she seemingly broke two long held (but perhaps lesser known) royal rules.

The first infraction against the crown involved Kate’s crowning glory – that’s right, her hair.

On Wednesday, Kate transformed her look with a new chic up do. Instead of her long, wavy tresses, the princess donned a low bun with face-framing curtain bangs.

Not only was Kate’s plaited up do a more casual take on her hairstyles for more formal occasions where she typically wears a hat or one of Queen Elizabeth’s tiaras, it technically went against a longstanding rule about how a royal should present themselves.

It’s been reported that a royal’s hair must be kept neat and natural. This is why, typically, even in the most casual settings, the ponytail of the likes of Kate or Duchess Sophie usually includes a section of hair wrapped around the hair tie, and everything is smooth and sleek all the way from roots to ends.

The fact that Kate was able to have her hair in what some have dubbed a “messy bun” without reproach has raised some eyebrows online, partially because some recall when Meghan Markle was criticised for having a very similar style.

When Meghan opted for messy buns throughout her tenure as a working royal, she was often accused of flouting protocol.

“Meghan was abused by the media for wearing a messy bun, while Kate was praised for keeping her hair in a net,” someone on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out.

However, some have argued Kate’s hairstyle this week was less of a messy bun – with Meghan’s buns being more casual.

As for Kate’s second seeming breach of the rules? That would be opening up on her pregnancy.

Kate opened up on struggling with sickness when pregnant, and the rare personal insight came as Kate spoke with the husband of a woman who had experienced the same severe sickness and vomiting, known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

Speaking about his chat with the Princess of Wales, as reported by the Daily Mail, Steve Ikebuwa, a father-of-four, revealed, “It was nice meeting her. When I told her about my wife having hyperemesis gravidarum, it struck a chord with her.”

“You could see an expression of 'I went through that'. She said 'I had that, I know what it's like'. You could see her connection to the fact that my wife went through all of that. That really resonated with me. She is a pleasant lady.”

However, it’s actually suggested that the late Queen didn’t like discussing pregnancy – going as far as disliking the actual word. She, apparently, opted to call it being “in the family way.”

So discussing morning sickness would definitely be frowned upon.

With the reign of King Charles reaching its first-year anniversary earlier in September – the anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth – perhaps this is a sign that many of the older traditions and protocols are being left behind.

Charles, after all, has his own vision for the monarchy, including slimming it down.