This is why Kate Middleton almost always carries her bag in her left hand

You might think a bag is just a bag, but when it comes to the royals, there is no such thing. For example, the Queen uses hers to signal to her staff when she's bored of talking to you, and Princess Diana used hers to hide her cleavage when coming out of cars, so that the paps wouldn't get the shot.

And if you've paid close attention to Kate Middleton, or even Meghan Markle, when she was still officially a royal, then you'll notice they almost always carry their clutch bags in their left hands at formal events, even though they are both right handed.

There is a simple reason behind this and it's all down to royal etiquette: it is so that they can have their right hand free to shake hands with guests or hosts.

(Image credit: 2019 Pool/Samir Hussein)

Royal expert Myka Meier revealed on her Instagram account, 'When entering a room or event, handbags or briefcases are held in the LEFT hand so that your right hand stays open to meet, greet and shake hands! Prince Charles does this too!'

This of course works for another reason, if they don't particularly want to shake hands with people, they simply hold their bag with both hands, thus avoiding any obvious awkwardness.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.