Does Royalty sign autographs? Prince Charles and Camilla visit Canada on Royal tour
November 9, 2009 by Michael ·
Royal Visit photos courtesy shot7.com
With the future King of England in the news a lot lately – Prince Charles and his wife Camilla did an 11-day Royal tour of Canada through St. Johns, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
HoundsTV was asked one particular question a few times, Does Royalty sign autographs?
We spoke to a few autograph experts and even one Royal historian.
Technically speaking, they do sign autographs. All members of the Royal Family have at one time attached their personal signatures to various things. So actual “autographs” of Prince Charles, Phillip, even the Queen do exist. Mainly on official type documents. There are also event programs, some books, even photos that Prince Charles and Lady Diana signed and were auctioned off for charity. So, actual autographs of the Royal Family do exist.
Now, if your in a crowd and meet a Royal face-to-face and ask Prince Charles to sign in-person, will he?
No. It is against Royal Protocol to sign autographs in crowds for fans. So, there is NO chance of getting a signature like that. The Prince will just politely decline (which I did see him do) even heard Prince Charles say, “I’m sorry, they don’t allow me to do that” to a young fan requesting a signature on her program at the recent Royal Winter Fair in Toronto.
UPDATE: We now know of at least ONE autograph Prince Charles signed while in Toronto. The official GUEST BOOK of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (Which Charles and Camilla officially opened.) But HoundsTV hears even that was not easy. The guest book still had to go threw Royal handlers even as the signature request was made while Charles was at the Fair. The book was still taken by the Royal entourage and returned several hours later with Charles signature personally added.
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In May 1999 Prince Charles visited the primary school my young son was attending. As he was doing his walkabout at a nearby Organic Farm my son was persistent in begging for his autograph – and Prince Charles duly obliged. The autograph on a scholl book page is a much prized possession. The event was covered by BBC News & the Belfast Telegraph newspaper who congratulated “Cheeky Craig”. So persistence does pay off !
Oops…. Te visit was to Straid Village, in Newtownabbey near Belfast.