She's been a solid fixture in 'The Firm' since marrying Prince William back in 2011, but Kate, the Princess of Wales, has never been afraid to make royal life work for her. And, that's particularly true following her diagnosis with cancer just a few years ago. Experts say she is "quietly rebelling" against royal rules because "her cancer battle really shifted her perspective."
What's more, the 44-year-old does not come from aristocracy, so she's often chosen to do things her way – even if it means side-stepping traditions that have been set in place for years and years. Luckily for Kate, her decision to do just that has greatly endeared us to her. According to a 2025 YouGov poll, the Princess of Wales is our most beloved member of the Windsors (outranking her own husband and even King Charles himself!).
So, which rules has the Princess rebelled against? Here, Cosmopolitan UK takes a look back at all the ways Kate has ripped up the royal rulebook – for the better.
She kissed King Charles in public
Kate shocked fans when she planted a peck on the cheek of King Charles at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent in September last year. Traditionally, protocol frowns upon any public displays of affection between royals; this is because royals are public servants and may wish to remain 'professional' when out in front of royal subjects.
That said, Kate and William have been known to sneak in a little PDA here and there (more on that later), and she has such a special bond with her father-in-law that the move shouldn't have come as such a surprise.
Charles and Kate have always shared a close bond, and he even referred to her as his "beloved daughter-in-law" while speaking at a state banquet in Kenya in October 2023. Since then, the pair's relationship has grown stronger still after they were both diagnosed with cancer.
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She casually introduced William without titles
William might be the future King to us all, but Kate's decision to introduce him simply by his name on a recent royal outing indicated that she sees her husband as her equal, and rightfully so!
Rather than introducing him to a fan as Prince William, the Prince of Wales, or His Royal Highness, Kate casually turned to her husband and said, "This is William."
William's full official title is His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, and he is typically introduced or referred to by his princely title because he holds it by law as the heir to the throne. That said, we can't really blame Kate for swerving that rather lengthy title, and, to be honest, who doesn't really know who William is anyway?
She said ‘no thanks’ to the tiara
Kate left some onlookers stunned on the day of King Charles III’s coronation in 2023, as many commentators believed she would be wearing an intricate tiara to mark her ascent as the Princess of Wales.
Instead, Kate opted for a stunning ivory flower headpiece made with sequins and metallic beading. The piece matched her white dress, with both coming from Alexander McQueen.
Kate’s choice to opt for something a little less regal (although she still looked completely fabulous) perhaps came as a response to the coronation ceremony being “scaled back” – King Charles ascended to the throne during the cost-of-living crisis, and so the usual pomp and extravagance of such a grand event was scaled down in order to be more considerate.
It was also thought to be a nod to the royal family’s hierarchy that the only people wearing crowns or tiaras on this historic day should be King Charles and Queen Camilla.
She abandoned the royal convoy to chat to subjects
Usually, once an engagement is done, the visiting royal in question is whisked away in their convoy. Not Kate.
Earlier in 2025, when making a planned visit to a family-run knitting business in Wales, Kate actually jumped out of her car as she left to say hello to a particularly eager little girl.
Kate had overheard Lily-Rose loudly shouting ‘Hello Princess!’ and had felt compelled to speak to her.
The BBC described Kate’s action as “highly unusual” and “remarkable because royal convoys rarely stop after they have left an engagement.”
Kate reportedly told Lily-Rose: “I heard you say 'hello' from all the way back there and I wanted to come and see you”, and received a toy banana from the tot.
“It was so exciting,” Lily-Rose’s mother, Stacey, told press at the time. “We had no idea that was going to happen. I hope this is one of the things Lily-Rose will remember. Kate was so lovely. She’s very natural and down-to-earth.”
She’s not afraid to show a little PDA with William
We don’t get to see a lot of royal romance in the public eye (such a shame!) but Kate and William have proven that their relationship is still so strong, all these years later.
In a video from the 2023 BAFTAs, Kate was seen giving the Prince of Wales a cheeky pat on the bottom – which left royal fans delighted.
Friends and onlookers with knowledge about the marriage have attested that the pair are still head-over-heels for each other – and were each other’s support when Kate was diagnosed with cancer.
“Like all couples, the relationship has ups and downs, but I would say they are stronger than ever, they are a very tight partnership,” an insider told Vanity Fair.
"It’s very clear that William is deeply in love with his wife, more than ever, and she is eternally grateful to him for the support he has given her this past year and how he has been with the children. He has shouldered a lot.”
She doesn’t want to have any live-in staff
While the Prince of Wales grew up in palaces where live-in staff were commonplace, Kate had a far more understated (see: normal) upbringing – something she’s keen for her three children to have.
As the family move to their new home in Forest Lodge, Kate and William have both insisted that they won’t have any staff that join their family abode on a full-time basis.
“They are far more ordinary than many might imagine - the kids even have to do chores in return for their pocket money,” royal expert and author Katie Nicholl said in an interview with The Mirror. “It's about them wanting to have a normal, happy, ordinary family home and lifestyle.”
She’s not afraid to pose for selfies
Snapping a selfie when out and about may seem like NBD to us commoners, but it’s not something royals are meant to do.
However, at one engagement the Princess of Wales did back in 2023, she did end up posing in front of someone’s front facing camera (and who could resist potentially getting a selfie with Kate?).
While meeting the young people who have worked with the Streets of Growth youth intervention charity, Kate stopped to have photos taken with some of the volunteers.
Apparently, it was the late Queen Elizabeth II who wasn’t a fan of cheeky selfies. In 2017, a Royal fan who attended the Buckingham Palace garden party told Insider that taking a selfie with a Royal was a sign of disrespect as "they didn't want people turning their backs to the Royal Family".
Still, Kate didn’t seem to mind – and was happy to smile for the camera.
She’ll wear what she wants to
While Kate has established herself as a bona fide style icon (Kate’s wardrobe is so powerful, it is thought her style alone has given an estimated £1 billion annual boost to the UK fashion industry), she hasn’t always stuck to the palace’s ultra demure dress code.
In 2019, she donned a blue polka dot dress (by designer Alessandra Rich, no less) for an event. However, the garment had a rather daring front slit, which parted to reveal some leg.
Here’s the thing – we aren’t Victorians that are scandalised by the merest hint of knee. But women of the royal family have gone to extreme lengths to ensure that all of their outfits are as demure as possible.
A quick FYI: It's customary for royal women to wear under-the-knee dresses and skirts. Similarly, if the piece is made from a lighter material, small weights are often added to the hemline to keep the garment in place.
But this somewhat ‘daring’ split makes this dotty dress all the more appealing – and we love Kate for choosing to wear it the way she wants to.
She’s going to put her brood first
Kate may be the Princess of Wales and future Queen – but she is first and foremost a mother to three kids (George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and seven-year-old Louis).
Panthea Parker, who stars in The Real Housewives of London, has explained that she has seen Kate attend football and rugby matches that her sons play in.
She has also reportedly refused to let her children participate when it comes to a slightly more gory royal tradition.
According to Tom Quinn, the author of Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, Kate has informed staff that her children will not be partaking in ‘blooding’.
This is when young members of the royals are taken hunting for the first time, and the “blood of his or her first kill” is “smeared” across their face.
It’s something Prince William and Prince Harry have thought to have done (Harry himself wrote about it in detail in his tell-all autobiography, Spare).
“Catherine, Princess of Wales, has put her foot down and insisted there will be no blooding for her children,” Quinn wrote.
Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper’s Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.
