Moment Prince William 'broke protocol' to hug crying pensioner during royal visit
Grab a tissue!Over the years, Prince William has shown that he’s not afraid to break royal protocol, as demonstrated when he once hugged a crying pensioner whilst on a royal engagement.
During a trip to Glasgow, Scotland, with his wife in 2022, the future king made headlines as he showed his softer side.
Moment Prince William hugs crying pensioner
The Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit to Wheatley Group in Glasgow, to hear about the challenges of homelessness in Scotland.
As they greeted crowds of royal fans, who had come out to meet them outside the homelessness project, Prince William spotted a local man, William Burns, looking visibly emotional.
As the pensioner opened up about his own personal challenges with homelessness and losing his wife, the prince put traditional royal rules to one side to give the grandfather-of-25 a hug. Mr Burns hugged the royal back tightly as he cried.
‘I’ve never felt anything like it in my entire life’
Speaking about the moment with the Daily Mail after, Mr Burns, then 66, said: “It was the way he hugged me. I didn’t expect that really to be honest. It was a boost. I’ve never felt anything like it in my entire life before and my existence as a human being.”
The moving gesture led to comparisons between Prince William and his late mother, Princess Diana.
In the past, it has generally been considered against protocol for members of the royal family to hug one another, let alone members of the public.
However, over the years, that’s gradually changed slightly.
What are the royal family’s rules on hugging?
The Buckingham Palace website sets out the usual rules for meeting a member of the royal family: “There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting a member of the royal family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms.”
It goes on to explain: “For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way.”
Hugging members of the royal family is said to break with traditional protocol. But the younger generation of the monarchy seem to be relaxing these supposed rules.
William has hugged members of the public during engagements
Prince William has hugged members of the public on numerous occasions.
During the summer, he shared celebratory hugs with several of the England women’s football team. It came as he presented them with their winning medals at the finals of the Euros.
Last year, King Charles had a similarly moving encounter as he met with members of the New Zealand women’s rugby team.
One player, Ayesha Leti-I’iga, took the monarch by surprise as she told him that she had a “cheeky request”.
“We all wanted a hug,” she said, before adding, “but only if it’s okay with you”.
To the team’s delight, King Charles happily accepted, replying: “A hug? Why not!”
A hug? Why not!
Following the heartwarming moment, captured on video, the king joked that it had been like being “flattened by a scrum”. He later thanked the team for their “warm hug”, which he described as “very healing”.
Read more: Prince William’s ‘complex emotions’ as Prince Harry arrives back in UK
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