Harry Avoided Holding Meghan's Hand At A Royal Event & The Reason Is So Sad

What's your love language? For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, there are five love languages: words of affirmation, receiving gifts, quality time, acts of service and physical touch. If physical touch is your love language of choice, marrying a member of England's royal family probably isn't a great option for you. Why not? Well, because you're typically discouraged from physically touching your spouse in public. No, seriously. The rule is the reasoning behind why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn't hold hands at the Young Leaders Reception at Buckingham Palace a few days ago.

In a video published by The Sun, you can see Meghan reaching for her husband's hand. But rather than returning the gesture, Harry moved his hand away.

Where did this practice come from? Well, while it was never officially stated, it was a precedent set by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and their offspring have chosen to follow suit. "The Queen rarely holds hands with her husband in public and this seems to have set an unwritten precedent for the other royals," body language expert Robin Kermode told the Daily Mail.

But, again, nothing here is official. In fact, it can be argued that the fact that Harry and Meghan weren't shy about physically showing their fondness for each other goes to show what a normal couple they really are at heart.

"While Prince Harry and Meghan holding hands is atypical for royal engagements, it is a seemingly welcomed gesture to show unity and celebration of their engagement period," Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told People. "There is no protocol that says they can not show affection on official engagements, and this gesture makes them relatable and lovable to the public."

Meghan and Harry definitely aren't your typical British royal couple. In addition to the fact that Meghan's not even British, the pair generally have historically broken the mold by being totally unreserved when it comes to showing off some PDA.

Don't believe me? Here they are at their first royal event as a married couple, Prince Charles' 70th birthday bash, with Meghan sexily rubbing her hand down her man's back as they walked in.

Of the above video, Traci Brown, author of Persuasion Point: Body Language and Speech for Influence, told Elite Daily of Markle's walk:

She's doing that beauty queen/runway model walk, which looks fantastic but it's not what you see a princess do. The walk is the one where your feet kind of cross over each other instead of going side by side. That does a couple of things. For one, it accentuates your hips and it gives you a little waggle that you don't see princesses really have. I haven't really seen her do that since she's been part of the royal group. That seems to be markedly different. You know she wasn't right next to the queen when she was doing that and I doubt she would have.

"That movement that she makes across his back is what I saw when they would go out in public together before they were married," added Patti Wood, author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma. " She would occasionally touch his back like that and rub down the back. That's very intimate and it speaks to the fact that they have a wonderful, intimate relationship, and it's also an interesting combination of her showing her power because she's coming up from behind then going downwards."

But as they get deeper into their marriage, it seems that the two are trying to cut down the PDA and start adhering a little more closely to the royal etiquette put into place by Harry's grandma.

I say this because of their behavior at the Young Leaders Reception at Buckingham Palace a few days ago.

While the two usually have their arms interlocked, they showed a noticeable change in tune at the event, not physically touching at all throughout the event.

Here's another picture of them interacting with people and not holding hands.

It's not just Queen Elizabeth's footsteps the newlyweds are following. No, they're also taking a page out of Harry's big brother's book.

"It is very clear that William and Kate are emotionally close, however, they do not seem to feel the need to prove their love — particularly when on official state business," Kermode explained to the Daily Mail.

Personally? I'd hate it if I couldn't hold my boyfriend's hand when I was feeling nervous but, hey, I guess that's the price of being royal.

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