Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle Should Stop Giving Cuddles, High-Fives, Etiquette Expert Says

The members of the British royal family are becoming more open with citizens, which is inappropriate, according to an etiquette expert.

William Hanson believes that royal family members like Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Camilla Parker-Bowles should stop hugging and touching fans. He claimed that they need to act like a royal and stop being "one of us."

"For me, royalty should be royal. They are not supposed to be like 'one of us.' They must all be nice people, yes (and they are), but it seems that it's now all a bit too chummy and informal," Hanson wrote.

"We all know that royal funding is not the most secure fiscal fixture. The more that the royal family behaves like your average Joe, the weaker the argument is to give them that funding," he continued. "We don't fund them to be like us. If they are just like any other family, then what's the need to subsidise them? Why not give us the funding then, instead?"

According to Hanson, royalty should be serene and stately. Unfortunately, giving high-fives and squidgy squeezes are neither serene nor stately. "We avoid touching them not because they are better than us as people, but because of the ancient office and dynastic institution they represent," Hanson explained. "It used to be the protocol that we can't touch them. Now, seemingly, the protocol has changed: we may touch them but only after they touch us first."

Hanson's statement comes a few days after the Duchess of Cambridge was seen giving Swedish sprogs a high-five as she trotted down an icy Stockholm street during her four-day Scandinavian tour with Prince William. In addition, on Wednesday, the Duchess of Cornwall and broadcaster Eamonn Holmes shared a peck on the cheek at the ITV studios.

When Middleton visited the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, she played with the kids. The children later lined up to bid goodbye to her, but instead of a polite handshake, they cuddled the royal mom and Middleton returned their hugs.

The same thing happened to Markle when she and Prince Harry made a stop at StarHub in Cardiff's Tremorfa. The Duke encouraged the schoolchildren to give Markle a hug, and they ran to the royal bride-to-be.

"At one point Harry did say, 'One, two, three, I want you all to hug Meghan!' So all the kids just kind of ran to Meghan," Kayleigh Forster said. "I thought she was going to fall over for a second, but she didn't. It was kind of cheeky of him, but really quite cute. You could see the cheekiness there with the both of them."

Do you agree with Hanson or do you support the royals' efforts to be closer to the people they serve? Drop a comment below.