Say what you want about the British Royal Family but in these tough times of what can sometimes feel like constant doom and gloom, they’re the flicker of joy the world needs.
In a pre-COVID world, these royals knew the power of a hug can make a stranger’s day.
While you’ll never catch the more senior members like Queen Elizabeth cuddling commoners, over the years the next generation of royals have often broken with rigid tradition and gotten close with the public.
This article is part of the Positivity Project in Partnership with Kelloggs – empowering Australian women to feel good, strong and confident in their own skin.
Prince Harry is a big hugger and admits his “naughty streak” helps him “relate to those individuals who have got themselves into trouble.”
While his wife Meghan Markle reportedly once told palace staff: “I’m American. I hug.”
Of course the late Princess Diana paved the way for them and changed the way the royals ruled.
“Hugs can do great amounts of good – especially for children,” Diana once said. Adding, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
Even the future King of England, Prince Charles, has totally overhauled his approach and is often spotted handing out heartfelt squeezes.
While hugs may be off the cards until the end of the pandemic, we’re taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting the best royal hugs of all time!
In a rare display, Prince Charles broke the royal protocol by sharing a genuine bear hug with an 11-year-old schoolboy during a European visit to Romania in March 2017.
The boy, whose name is Valentin Blacker (the son of one of Charles’ Etonian friends), embraced the royal figure in a genuine display of affection.
In 2015, King of the hugs Prince Harry shared a tender moment with US Marine, Kirstie Ennis at Buckingham Palace.
At the 2016 Wellchild awards, Ollie, who suffers from Batten disease and cannot stand by himself, managed to get to his feet and wrap his arms around the prince for a long cuddle.
Prince Harry embraces a sick boy at the WellChild Awards
The pair were eventually reunited. Don’t mind us as we weep quietly in the corner taking in this powerful photo.
In 2017, Prince William was praised for comforting a victim of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London.
The royal siblings have learnt their magic touch from their late mother, Princess Diana.
“Hugs can do great amounts of good – especially for children,” Diana once said.
Duchess Catherine has fully embraced this mantra as well!
Who could forget this incredibly moving moment when cancer patient Diamond Marshall, who sadly died in 2014, greeted the Duchess with a bunch of flowers in Calgary, Canada during the 2011 royal tour. Clearly moved by the gesture, Kate wrapped her arms around the little girl.
Prince Charles comforts a woman whose family members are still missing from the 1999 Kosovo war.
Like father, like son. In 2015, hearts around the world skipped a beat when Prince Harry met war widow Daphne Dunne during his visit to Sydney.
Two years later, the pair were reunited in the harbour-side city once again. Clearly touched, Prince Harry remembered Daphne and remarked: “Oh, it’s you,” before swooping in to hold her.
The look on Kate’s face says it all – hugs are powerful! Here the Duchess meets with a fan at Dunedin, New Zealand in 2014.
Kate made sure she got some precious one-on-one time with Demi-Leigh Armstrong when she visited the Shooting Star House Children’s Hospice in Hampton, Middlesex in 2013. Watch their sweet encounter in the next slide!
Duchess Catherine cuddles a little girl
The Prince of Wales hugs a well wisher in LA in 1994.
In 2006, Prince Harry was a hit with the kids as he visited a children’s home in Lesotho in Southern Africa.
Prince Harry is a big hugger and admits his “naughty streak” helps him “relate to those individuals who have got themselves into trouble.”
In 2015, Harry was reunited with Mutso – a young boy he made friends with on his first visit to Lesotho.
Duchess Meghan embraces a young boy during a visit to Cape Town, South Africa in 2019.
Meghan Markle proudly describes herself as a “hugger.”
Hug it out! Local school boy Luke was thrilled to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they visited Dubbo, NSW during their tour of Australia in 2018.
Princess Diana would be so proud!
