Prince William 'deliberately' broke this royal rule at the Euros all thanks to Princess Diana

Prince William 'deliberately' broke this royal protocol during the Euros claims a royal expert who suggests that the Prince was influenced by his late mother, the Princess of Wales.

• Prince William is the President of the FA and was in attendance at the women's Euro final.
• The Prince congratulated the champions on the England team and broke a royal protocol while doing so. 
• In other royal news, Queen reveals Charles and William have ‘carried on’ Prince Philip’s passion in heartfelt letter.

Prince William attended the Women's Euro film and watched as England won against Germany. Following this impressive win, Prince William congratulated the Lionesses and gave many of them a hug. Traditionally royals are not meant to hug the people they are congratulating, but fans loved Prince William's rare personal show of support. 

Former royal butler Grant Harrold told OK! (opens in new tab) that this breaking of the royal protocol was a deliberate act from the Duke of Cambridge. 

"Historically, there was a rule with royals that you could look but you couldn’t touch. If you met a royal, you could look at them and if they offered you a handshake, you were to accept it," said Grant. "That was a lot to do with the mystique surrounding the family but also for security reasons, too."

The former butler speculated that Prince William is modernizing the royal family and perhaps can't afford to be as 'aloof' as former generations. 

"I think William and the other younger royals have realized that they can’t get away with being aloof,” said Grant. "The Queen can get away with it because she’s the Queen and she’s from a different era, but the younger royals have been brought up very differently."

The expert then added that it was likely the late Princess of Wales who influenced this tactile style that the Prince displayed. "Diana was a hugger and I think that this physical contact and hugging people has a lot to do with how William was raised,” he said.

"It won’t feel unnatural to William - if anything, it’d feel more uncomfortable if it was just a strict handshake. As well as this, seeing royals hug makes them relevant and modern." Grant added, "As he does more work and gets to grips with his role, he wants people to see the real him which is why we’ve seen a lot more affection recently, he’s really eased into his role.”

Prince William's adorable private words of encouragement to the England champions were revealed by a lipreader. This impressed fans as the Prince sincerely congratulated the team and said to each of them that they were 'amazing' or 'fantastic'.