Prince William and Princess Kate's 'royal U-turn' after etiquette coach's criticism
EXCLUSIVE: Etiquette coach William Hanson previously claimed that the royals were acting "like friends from a grammar school" before they "adjusted" their ways, following the Queen's death.
Prince William and Princess Kate have now "adjusted" away from being "too normal" as royals, etiquette coach William Hanson has claimed. Back in 2016, the 34-year-old said that if our future monarchy was going to be William, Kate and Prince Harry, "then heaven help us", as he claimed they were behaving "like our friends from a grammar school".
After reports at the time suggested that William had also referred to his wife Kate as "babe" in public, the etiquette coach added: "Babe?! Not a very imperial pet-name, is it? He's the second in line to the British throne, Your Royal Highness, not a character in TOWIE."
Eight years on from his comments, the Help I Sexted My Boss podcast host joked that he should have taken "a chill pill" when airing out his thoughts in his Daily Mail column, but reflected on why he was concerned at the time.
William said he believes the couple acting "too normal" was "a phase", before they "adjusted" to their new roles, following Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from the family in 2020 and Queen Elizabeth II's death two years later.
Commenting on their past behaviour, he shared: "I think maybe some of their reaction, and this is purely my own opinion, was almost as a reaction to Harry and Meghan [leaving].
"Harry and Meghan were great for the royal family and could've been phenomenal had they of stayed, but they offered a much different approach to attracting the public, just like Diana did.
"When Diana came along in the 80s, it was less stiff, less formal and much more tactical.
"For Harry and Meghan I think, as I said at the time, it worked really nicely because of their own personalities and also because Harry was not going to be the King and Meghan was not going to be the Queen, so you can be a little bit looser."
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With the Prince and Princess of Wales however, the etiquette coach, who once served the late Queen Elizabeth, insisted they could have been a bit more mysterious, given their higher status.
He added: "William and Catherine are going to be King and Queen, so my concern was, if you are too normal, in effect, what's the point?
"If they are just like us, what's the point? Sort of now, I think, the royal family is totally different for natural reasons and stuff that was not planned. So, it's a different proposition now.
"They've gone up the pecking order, because obviously the very sad death of Queen Elizabeth, they've gone up, so by definition I think [they've adjusted] and that would've probably always happened.
"I would tell myself seven years ago to just take a chill pill," William, who is fronting Sainsbury’s for their latest Smart Charge campaign, added.
Prince Harry and Meghan stepped away from their senior royal duties back in 2020 and later moved to America, where they still reside with their two young children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
While they are no longer official royals, they have kept their titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Following the Queen's death, William and Kate were given the new titles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, while Charles became the new King and Camilla became Queen.
