Princess Kate refused to break this royal "rule" at Flower Show

Catherine, Princess of Wales leaves after taking part in the first Children's Picnic at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 22, 2023 in London, England. Ten schools from the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening were invited to bring pupils along to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, marking the first time in the event's 110-year history that a Children's Picnic has taken place

(Image credit: Photo by WPA Pool / Getty)

published 25 May 2023

There are many unspoken royal rules that seem fairly inexplicable to us mortals, but the latest one we've learned about actually does make quite a bit of sense.

During her recent visit to the Chelsea Flower Show, Princess Kate explained to some children that she's not allowed to use her signature, and while this may be a bit bizarre (and certainly disappointing for the kids), we have to admit it's not unreasonable.

At the event, the Princess of Wales joined pupils from Islington's St. Mary's Church of England Primary School and Brixton's Glenbrook Primary School to examine various bugs and beetles.

After being asked to sign some of the children's drawings, the royal said, "I can't write my name, but I can draw" (via People).

She added: "My name's Catherine. I'm not allowed to write my signature, it's just one of those rules."

Instead of signing the children's sketches, the princess drew a flower, a tree, and a pond.

Apparently, the reason royals aren't allowed to sign anything is because of the risk of forgery if their signature style were to become publicly known. Because royals have to sign off on all sorts of important documents, it could be quite dramatic if their signatures were forged.

This, unlike rules such as not being allowed to eat pasta (a rule it seems Princess Kate has in fact managed to shirk) feels perfectly justified.

Kate made a surprise appearance at the annual Chelsea Flower Show on Monday. For the occasion, she rewore a two-toned bright pink dress by ME+EM, and participated in a Children's Picnic with schoolchildren, as well as meeting the Chelsea Pensioners group.

On the day, she made a couple of other sweet and surprising revelations.

Firstly, she revealed one of Prince Louis' school-day activities. "Louis is growing broad beans at school," she said.

And secondly, she shared the secret to being a successful member of the Royal Family. "You have to work hard," she told a little girl who had asked.

The royals are understandably private, so it's always nice when we learn some new details about their lives!

Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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