Before Prince Harry came along, Meghan Markle was used to signing autographs for adoring fans, but that all changed as soon as she became a royal. That’s because the Royal Family is not allowed to sign their name on…anything, for fear of forgery.
It may sound old-timey, but it’s been standard practice for years.
As Best Life points out, the no autograph rule was famously broken by one royal rebel, Princess Diana, who was known for sending signed photos of herself as a “thank you” for those who helped her out, like designers. They note that during the auction of her dress in 1997, Princess Di signed the catalog “for a few lucky attendees.” Her famous loopy signature appeared on the cover of Tina Brown’s best seller, The Diana Chronicles, after the princess’ death.
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According to London-based Express, Diana’s husband, Prince Charles, also broke protocol in 2010 when he signed an autograph for a flood victim (he wrote “Charles 2010″ on a piece of paper). But his usual response to an autograph request is: “Sorry, they don’t allow me to do that.”
It’s too bad Megs can’t give out autographs. Her handwriting is out of this world. She told Esquire in 2013 that she learned the art of calligraphy during her time at an all-girls Catholic school, back when they still taught handwriting.
“I’ve always had a propensity for getting the cursive down pretty well,” she said. “What it evolved into was my pseudo-waitressing job when I was auditioning. I didn’t wait tables. I did calligraphy for the invitations for, like, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s wedding.”
