Let’s get one thing straight: “royal protocol” is not contained in a leather-bound rulebook with a gilded crown on the cover. It’s not written down in one place. It’s not law. And it’s certainly not as ironclad or impartial as the press sometimes makes it sound.

As former royal reporter Omid Scobie once wrote, there’s “virtually” no protocol when it comes to royal clothing. “Only common sense,” a one-time Kensington Palace spokesperson told him.

Ironically, in the article where Scobie quotes that palace source as saying protocol doesn’t exist, he also points out that one member of the family—Meghan, Duchess of Sussex—was perennially accused of breaching it. Atop the images to accompany his point was (at the time I accessed this article) a dynamically inserted video proclaiming “5 Times Meghan broke protocol!”

It’s a royal myth that seems unlikely to ever fully dissipate. But what exactly…is “protocol?”

Think of royal protocol as a constantly shifting web of expectations. It’s informed in part by etiquette, but also by etiquette and PR choreography. Protocol includes how royals greet each other in public (no bear hugs), the order in which they walk at events (strictly by rank), what colors they can wear (coordinated, diplomatic, symbolic), and when they’re expected to bow or curtsey (yes, even to each other).