Celebrities Who Broke Tradition At Royal Weddings

Ah, to be a royal. Sure, you get to live in palaces and grand estates, but you also have a novel-length etiquette guide that you're constantly required to follow. And when outsiders and celebrities are invited to royal-hosted events, they are naturally expected to adapt and adhere to these strict guidelines, too, especially at ultra-traditional affairs like royal weddings.

While the rules can seem a bit stifling and could certainly use a 21st century update, if you're attending a royal wedding, it might seem like a snub and interpreted as rude if you don't follow the protocols, etiquette rules, and dress codes. This advice especially applies to famous individuals who the media and other guests pay extra attention to and watch with scrutinizing eyes. 

However, occasionally celebrities are clueless about such restrictions or purposely disobey them in defiance. Here are a few of those times when celebrities raised some eyebrows by breaking tradition at royal weddings.

An OBE is an honor given to civilians by the Queen. It stands for "Officer of the Order of the British Empire," and according to the Scottish Sun, it's "generally given to people who have made a major contribution to their line of work, or whose work has gained national prominence." The famous English footballer, David Beckham, was given the honor in 2003.

It's traditional and suggested to wear any medals that represent honors given by the queen when attending royal weddings. But when Beckham showed up to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, he was wearing his medal on the wrong lapel. Photographs after the ceremony show that he left wearing it on the correct side, so it seems he realized his mistake (or was called out on it) at some point. 

It's also tradition to show your patriotism at a royal wedding by wearing a British designer. According to Town & Country, attendees are expected to "make a patriotic fashion choice." Thus, Beckham also broke tradition at William and Kate's wedding by wearing a morning suit by Ralph Lauren, an American designer.

According to official royal wedding etiquette, "Women are expected to wear formal dresses or suits, to avoid halter necks, sleeveless gowns, spaghetti straps and mini-skirts" (per the Irish Examiner). So when author/podcaster and daughter of TV presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, Chloe Madeley, wore a spaghetti strap dress to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, she definitely raised some eyebrows.

She has since opened up about the fashion choice and explained that she had planned to wear a jacket but lost it during the trip to the church. On ITV's "Lorraine" talk show, Madeley explained that she was wearing the jacket in transit when she got overheated and, at her husband's suggestion, took it off with plans to put it back on before entering the church.

Madeley was surprised upon arrival that her jacket was nowhere to be found. She didn't know that it was such a faux pas to show off so much of her shoulders and chest, recalling on the talk show (via their Twitter), "I'm going in shoulders out. It's fine, it's not a big deal, nobody will care. Yes, people definitely cared. People were like, 'You're offending the House of the Lord', and I was like, '...I did not need a religious war.' But, you know, it's okay, lesson learned."

While it is indeed tradition to wear a hat, on the flip side, it's customary to not wear anything too eccentric. In Town & Country's guide to royal wedding etiquette, Lucy Hume, "associate director of an etiquette coaching company," advised, "Resist novelty elements or anything that will draw too much attention away from the bride." Etiquette instructor William Hanson also noted, "It's in a church, so you can't have a huge hat because no one behind you will be able to see."

Princess Beatrice is known for breaking advised hat etiquette and wearing over-the-top head pieces to royal festivities, like the butterfly fascinator she wore when she attended Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly's wedding. But the hat that wins the award for the most bizarre is the one she wore to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The hat was reportedly "mocked endlessly online," with users on social media claiming it looked like everything from "fallopian tubes" to "a creature from Dr. Who," per The Hollywood Reporter.

The designer of the hat, Philip Treacy, received serious backlash over his odd creation. "There was a moment when I thought I'd find myself, you know, my head on a spike outside the Tower of London. ... But, it was a very modern hat, and modernity is always unusual things," Treacy said on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs." All of the media attention and discussions about the hat definitely diverted too much attention from the nuptials and clearly broke traditional protocol.

It might come as a surprise that it is frowned upon to expose your toes at a royal wedding (or at any formal royal event), even in the summer. Harper's Bazaar reported that "female guests" at Prince Harry and Meghan's "wedding were instructed to avoid open-toe shoes." William Hanson, "etiquette expert," explained to the publication, "Open-toed shoes are considered informal footwear and inappropriate for formal occasions."

If that's the case, then "Pretty Little Liars" actor Troian Bellisario went against royal wedding dress code when she wore heeled sandals to witness Meghan and Harry tie the knot. Bellisario told The Daily Telegraph that she had anxiety over the dress code, particularly the hat, explaining, "You could get one that is an absolute piece of art, but then are you being too vain and trying to call too much attention to yourself? Or if you get a fascinator that's very small, are you not going for tradition? I'd never needed a fascinator in my life, and here I was trying to walk this tightrope of 'don't go too big, don't go too small.' It was a nightmare."

Unfortunately Bellisario seemed to have been so worried about whether or not she was breaking tradition with the hat that the idea of her shoes becoming a faux pas never crossed her mind. Who could blame her for having anxiety about getting things right?

It's frowned upon and viewed as disrespectful to chew gum in a church in England, especially in front of the queen! Royal weddings typically include both the church and the queen, an unlucky fact for guests who desire to freshen their breath. As it turns out, it's not a good look to be chomping away in the presence of the lord or her majesty.

Singer Robbie Williams clearly didn't get the memo about this etiquette rule and was caught on camera enjoying some minty freshness. According to the Evening Standard, fans took to Twitter to express their disgust over the incident, saying things like, "Shame Robbie Williams has no social skills, sitting there chewing gum" and "Robbie Williams chewing gum. Yuk." Another user snootily labeled him a "commoner."

As silly as it seems to make a fuss over something as frivolous as gum, Williams has not been the only celeb to be accused of the almost-unforgivable mistake. David Beckham was also caught chewing gum at Harry and Meghan's wedding, and the press had a field day with that one, too, as it sparked internet jokes aplenty.

While guests are encouraged to not wear white to any wedding, it's laid out as an official code for royal weddings so as not to upstage the royal wedding dress. Per traditional etiquette protocols, "wearing cream or white must be left to the bride" (via the Irish Examiner). Even though that seems obvious, there have been several celebrities who have infringed on this instruction.

For instance, Joss Stone technically broke the rule at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. Although her white dress did have a pattern, it was mostly white, and she paired it with a white fascinator.

Pippa Middleton oddly wore white in her sister Kate's wedding to Prince William. While it's true that royal child bridesmaids typically wear white, Pippa — as a full grown woman — could have easily been mistaken for the bride. However, Marie Claire reported that Pippa's dress, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, was meant to poetically connect the sisters, using the same buttons and lace. So perhaps they decided to stick with white to also add to that effect.

Actor and model Ayda Field sparked criticism when she wore what appeared to be a white Armani skirt suit to Princess Eugenie's wedding. While others claimed it was more of a cream or a gray color, the fact that it sparked debate at all confirms that it was too close to white.

Royal brides have always donned the expected traditional symbol for being taken: the wedding band on the left ring finger. However, the husbands of the royal family have a different tradition: keeping their fingers naked. You've maybe never noticed the lack of male wedding rings in recent royal history. The queen's husband never wore a wedding band, Prince Charles didn't wear a ring when married to Diana (though he wears a tiny one on his pinky now), and even Prince William opted out of ring-wearing after his marriage (via the Daily Mail).

Though the tradition has been explained as nothing more than a "personal preference," Vogue noted that it also may stem from upper-class etiquette guides, particularly "Debrett's New Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners," which states, "It is customary for the bride alone to sport a wedding ring." 

Thus, Prince Harry went against etiquette rules and his own family's tradition when he decided to wear a proper wedding band. It was a very modern choice, as much of his relationship with Meghan Markle has proved to be.