UPDATE: Kate Middleton Isn’t Allowed To Sign Her Name Due to Protocol. Then, She Found a Clever Loophole

Princess of Wales Kate Middleton has to adhere to strict royal protocols to prevent security risks. According to People magazine, last year, she diplomatically declined to sign an autograph while spending time with schoolchildren on a surprise visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in London. “I can’t write my name,” she politely said when the children requested her to sign their sketches. “But I can draw,” she added, suggesting an alternative. She then drew a flower for Ruby, a 7-year-old girl, a tree for another, and a pond with plants surrounding it for a third kid. Middleton later explained, “My name is Catherine. I am not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules.”

As reported by the Daily Express, given the possibility of forgeries, royal family members are forbidden from signing autographs. The UK Mirror, however, claimed that royals are permitted to sign official documents or guest books on certain occasions. Much like Middleton, other family members have also come up with inventive ways to break the rule.

During a 2018 visit to Cardiff, Meghan Markle scribbled “Hi Kaitlin” in a fan’s autograph book. The child, delighted, told a reporter, “I have never got a royal autograph before. This is going to make everyone jealous.” Prince Harry also once signed “Get Well Soon” and his autograph on the wounded limb of Air Training Corps student, Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, back in 2010.

Meanwhile, King Charles III is known to write “Charles R” on all documents — except in personal correspondence — using an autopen machine. When asked for an autograph, the King reportedly replies with, “Sorry, they don’t allow me to do that.” However, in 2010, he defied protocol by signing an autograph “Charles 2010” on a scrap of paper for a flood victim. He has since avoided bending the rule. According to Paul Fraser, a writer for the Antique Collecting magazine, Charles and late Princess of Wales, Diana’s autographed Christmas cards can fetch up to £4,500 on the market.

Fraser also noted that it was “almost impossible” to get Prince William’s signature. He said, “In my entire career, I have only ever handled two examples. The first was a first-day postal cover, signed very much against protocol at a charity event in 2003. And the second is a playing card initiated by the Prince in 2005, during a magic trick at another charity event.”

He further explained, “Having inherited his father’s position as the new Prince of Wales, William now officially signs with a ‘P’ at the end of his name. But handwriting experts suggest that William’s almost unreadable signature reveals him as a deeply private figure. And certainly not a man who signs his name readily on anything.”