Royal expert claims affectionate upbringing from Diana inspired William to hug Lionesses

The Duke of Cambridge ‘deliberately’ broke royal protocol at the final of the Women’s Euros 2022 to hug the Lionesses, a royal expert has claimed.

Prince William, 40, was seen hugging England Women’s players including captain Leah Williamson and Jill Scott, the only remaining player from the team that lost out to Germany in the 2009 final.

While technically senior royals don’t tend to hug members of the public, a royal expert has claimed William had deliberately planned to hug some of the Lionesses as they triumped over Germany in the final.

William, who is president of the FA, congratulated long-standing Lioness Jill Scott who was the only remaining player from the 2009 team that lost to Germany in the final

Speaking to OK! magazine, former royal butler Grant Harrold said the Duke, who is a huge football fan and president of the Football Association, has an approachable nature.

He talked about the age-old rule with the Royal Family that you could ‘look but you couldn’t touch’.

Traditionally, members of the public were only supposed to touch a royal if the royal offered their hand out for a handshake.

Harrold explained that this was mainly for security reasons but it also allowed the Royal Family to maintain an air of ‘mystique’.

However, with the senior royals being spotted hugging members of the public more often, Harrold said there were signs William will encourage modernity when he becomes king.

He said: ‘I think William and the other younger royals have realised that they can’t get away with being aloof.

‘The Queen can get away with it because she’s the Queen and she’s from a different era, but the younger royals have been brought up very differently.’

Harrold added William’s affectionate nature is likely something he inherited from his mother Princess Diana.

Describing the late princess as ‘a hugger’ he said he thought the Duke of Cambridge had been raised with lots of physical affection. 

‘It won’t feel unnatural to William – if anything, it’d feel more uncomfortable if it was just a strict handshake,’ Harrold said.

As William has stepped up to take on more royal duties in recent months on behalf of the Queen, Harrold said gestures like hugging were a way for William to show people ‘the real him’.