- Prince Charles seen kissing Queen Letizia's hand
- Charles' gesture has a significant meaning
- Letizia is not the only royal he's done this with
Prince Charles may have raised some eyebrows during his interaction with Queen Letizia earlier this week, but there's a reason why he conducted himself in the manner he did! The Prince of Wales was photographed giving the Spanish royal several kisses during their meeting on Tuesday, but as Hello! shares, his actions actually made a lot of sense.
Charles kissing Letizia's hand a sign of respect
Charles is below Letizia in rank, since he is a prince while she holds the title of queen. That's why kissing Letizia's hand wasn't anything dramatically out of the ordinary for Charles. Instead, he performed the gesture as a way to demonstrate respect for the higher-ranking royal— and he's also done the same in the past with one of his immediate family members.
The outlet mentions that Charles has been photographed sharing similar moments with his own mother, Queen Elizabeth II. She appears to be the only other royal who receives the same kind of affection from the Prince of Wales, but this again has to do with her rank as a member of the royal family. Charles is known to be quite close to his mother, with her even sending him to attend this year's Commonwealth Day service in her place.
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Imagine living like this!
Those unfamiliar with this royal custom of respect were understandably taken aback by the photos of Charles and Letizia when they first appeared. But while the hand kiss is a gesture that's not frequently observed by members of the royal family, for Charles, it was simply intended as a touching way to honour Letizia's standing as queen!
