Etiquette expert says Catherine has become a 'walking symbol of elegance'

Etiquette expert Laura Windsor has told HELLO! magazine that Catherine, Princess of Wales, is now a "walking symbol of elegance". Windsor founded the Laura Windsor Etiquette Academy and is known as the "Queen of Etiquette".

In the interview, published on 5 November 2026, Windsor compared how Catherine carries herself now with how she was seen in the past. She said Catherine had been photographed scratching her head, with her hands in places she shouldn't have them, and coming down stairs in a way Windsor described as inelegant.

Windsor said Catherine now holds her hands at belly-button or waist height, with one hand cupped in front of the other. She also said the Princess walks straight, with her shoulders back.

Windsor said Catherine has realised she "can't really afford to make faux pas because it's not good for business right now". A faux pas is a social slip, a moment of bad manners. Windsor said the Princess has millions of eyes on her, which is why the stakes feel high.

Windsor also said deportment, the term for how a person holds and moves their body, is the hardest royal rule for someone joining the family to follow. She described it as the part of the job that translates into elegance.