The strict royal rules that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Louis are exempt from

The rules that govern royal life are well-known and have been passed down through the generations.

From heirs not flying together to royals being discouraged from signing autographs, there is no shortage of traditions and customs for members of the House of Windsor to remember.

Things have relaxed in more recent years, however, and, on occasion, some of the younger members of the family – including Prince William and Prince Kate’s children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – have been made exempt from quite a few royal rules. 

No children at Royal Ascot

For years, there was a strict ban on under-18s attending Royal Ascot.

The late Queen Elizabeth broke this rule for her granddaughter Zara Tindall (then Zara Phillips) by following her to attend when she was just eight years old in 1989.

Like both her grandmother and her mother, Princess Anne, Zara showed a love of all things equestrian from a young age and so the rule was waived to let her attend.

Zara was the only child permitted to attend the event that year. Rules at Ascot have since changed, however, and minors are now allowed to go if accompanied by an adult.

It’s rare to see children seated in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, with the idea being they could take a valuable seat from other important invited guests like tennis champions or politicians.

But an exemption is made exclusively for members of the royal family, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte invited to sit in the box.

George was just eight years old when he watched the men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, seated between his mum and dad, Princess Kate and Prince William.

Back in 1999, it was reported that the Duchess of Kent, a keen tennis fan herself, was upset after she asked the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club if she could invite a young guest to sit with her at Wimbledon.

A statement released by then-club chairman John Curry at the time apologised to the Duchess but stood firm on Wimbledon’s rules.

It read: “I regret any unintentional hurt this may have caused to her Royal Highness. Because of demand for space in the royal box, we also ask that, apart from children of the royal family, children are not invited as they exclude other worthy people from attending, many of whom contribute to tennis.”

The royal family follows an unwritten rule that no two heirs should fly on the same aircraft.

This is a security measure to ensure that no air-related accident eliminates the future of the monarchy.

Technically, Prince William and his heir, Prince George, should not fly together. However, because travelling around the world separately with young children is logistically difficult, exemptions have been made.

The late Queen Elizabeth II routinely waived this rule for William and Kate when their children were small, allowing the family to travel together on international tours.

However, it’s likely that as George gets older, he may begin travelling separately from his parents.

Exempt from dinners and banquets

The royal children are generally exempt from a number of etiquette rules surrounding palace protocol and official gatherings.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis do not have to attend state dinners and banquets. Rather than dining with their parents, the children normally have meals with their nannies during these events.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously told HELLO! that this is to ensure children are properly educated in the art of polite conversation

“The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table,” he said. “So for the Queen there was never a case of putting a high chair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food.”

Bowing and curtsying

While members of the royal family are expected to bow or curtsy to the King and Queen, young royal children are generally given latitude because of their age and are not expected to observe protocol as strictly as adults.

Historically, royal children learned court etiquette from nannies, governesses, and parents long before they were expected to perform it publicly.