Queen Camilla’s polite attempt to break royal protocol during a royal engagement this week was stopped by her sister-in-law, Princess Anne.
The pair attended a joint event to mark the Foundation Day of the University of London on Wednesday.
As Chancellor, the Princess Royal, 74, presented Camilla with an honorary doctorate in literature as a sweet nod to her ongoing efforts to promote literature in the UK.
After the pair arrived at the university together, they were taken to the Senate House, where the ceremony took place.
But to show respect to Anne, Camilla invited her to enter the room first – breaking a first step in royal protocol that had been in place since 1066.
Anne, who is very familiar with the royal family’s order of precedence, “smiled and politely declined” – instead welcoming Camilla to enter the room first, express Report.
During public-facing duties, the royals are expected to respect the “sequential hierarchy of nominal importance” – meaning Their Majesties are always the first to enter the room.
And while Anne, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, was born into royalty, she still ranks below King Charles’s wife in company.
Camilla, 77, and Anne have grown closer since she joined Her Majesty’s royal family following her marriage to Charles, 76, in 2005.
At Wednesday’s event, the two were seen laughing and posing for photos together as they joined four other recipients of honorary doctorates at the university.
After a few days of the walk, Camila was forced to pull the plug at her appearance at the Royal Variety Performance following a chest infection, which she has been battling for most of this month.
The palace said Camilla did not attend Friday night’s gala at London’s Royal Albert Hall to care for her ongoing infection.
In a statement ahead of the event, Buckingham Palace said the Queen “continues to experience some post-viral symptoms” and that doctors have advised her rest.
“With great regret, she has withdrawn from appearing at tonight’s Royal Variety Performance. His Excellency will attend as planned,” the statement said.
Charles attended the star-studded event for the first time as monarch after taking over the role of Patron of the Royal Variety Charity from his late mother.
