Are public displays of affection prohibited by British royal protocol? Experts answer.
Like most newly engaged couples, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are almost unable to keep their hands off each other.
The couple has been dating for a year and a half and, in that time, they have given free rein to their affection in public. In September, the prince, 33, and the actress, 36, attended Canada's Invictus Games, where they barely let go of each other's hands and even kissed at one point.
This affection could also be appreciated in the announcement of their engagement, both in their official presentation and in their first public appearance after the announcement, on World AIDS Day.
During that busy week, the couple quietly linked arms, something Harry's older brother, Prince William, rarely does with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
"It's easy to appreciate Meghan and Prince Harry's outgoing personalities, modern looks and big hearts when they're out in public," Myka Meier, royal etiquette expert and founder and director of the etiquette consulting company, tells HuffPost. Beaumont Etiquette.
There is no official protocol that says royals cannot show public displays of affection when attending official engagements. But, in general, it seems that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prefer to be more restrained than Prince Harry and Markle.
"It's just a matter of preference for each couple," says Meier. "Each member of the royal family is confident enough to judge for themselves what is or is not appropriate."
This difference is even more noticeable in the interview each brother gave after announcing their engagement. In the one that Harry and Markle gave to the BBC, the former Suits actress did not let go of her future husband's hand while she explained how Harry proposed and if they were going to have children.
