Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Just Broke a Major Rule by Holding Hands

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published 26 September 17

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally made their first joint public appearance together at Toronto's Invictus Games, where they were spotted looking very much in love and (gasp!) holding hands. Which isn't a biggie for most normal people, but is a *huge* deal for royals.

As we know from William and Kate, holding hands is frowned upon during events:

"The likely reasoning is more that while traveling on a tour such as the India trip, technically the couple are working representatives of British Monarchy," explains royal etiquette Myka Meier. "The couple are likely to show very little PDA, if any, to remain professional during their designated roles abroad."

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The fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are unmarried makes their hand-holding even more of a big deal—not only did they break protocol at an official event (Kate and Will would never!), they did it out of "wedlock." It sounds like the most old-fashioned thing ever, but these rules matter, and watching Harry delicately break them matters even more. Let's just say, an engagement is likely just around the corner. So ready.