Britain's Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and his wife Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, visit the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, July 21, 2017.
Britain's Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and his wife Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, visit the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, July 21, 2017. Reuters/Christian Charisius/POOL

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, can take selfies with fans, but not autographs, and there’s a reason for that. Now she’s a member of the royal family, Prince William’s wife, more commonly known as Kate Middleton, has to settle for smiling for the camera when asked for something to remember her by.

Last month, a young man in the Polish capital of Warsaw was left disappointed when Kate refused to sign his copy of the Duchess’ biography. “She cannot sign it!” he was quoted by the Express as saying.

Kate was not being a snob, though. She just was not allowed to sign it. As OK magazine notes, Kate and the rest of the royal family are forbidden to give out their signatures like common celebrities. Apparently, royal protocol dictates that they should not sign autographs in case their signature is forged.

This explains why the royals are never seen signing anything for their fans. One rare exemption was in 2010 when Prince Charles broke protocol.

He usually responded with, “Sorry, they don’t allow me to do that,” when his subjects asked him for an autograph, but he scribbled “Charles 2010” on a scrap of paper as autograph for a flooding victim. Prince Harry also broke the rule one time when he sent former US president Barack Obama a signed photo of himself.

As for taking photos, they can use their discretion if they want to pose pictures with fans. However, it would be best if fans would just take regular pictures with William and Harry rather than selfies because, according to a few people who have met the royals and asked for photographs, they hated taking selfies.

William was spotted by club-goers earlier this year and was promptly asked for a selfie, but he apparently turned them down politely. He reportedly said good-humouredly, “One doesn’t do selfies!”

Two years ago, Harry also allegedly told a young woman in Canberra that he hated selfies. “Seriously, you need to get out of it,” he was quoted by Time as saying. “I know you’re young, but selfies are bad. Just take a normal photograph!”

RELATED STORIES