Kate Middleton appears to be pushing back at Meghan Markle’s claim she is not a ‘hugger’

This week's royal engagements have seen Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) hugging more and more fans, with some speculating she is subtly pushing back at Meghan Markle's (opens in new tab) previous claim she is not a 'hugger'.

• Over the past week, Kate Middleton has been quick to embrace fans, friends and familiar faces during royal engagements.
• It has now been speculated that this hugging spree was spurred on by Meghan Markle's previous claim that Kate is very formal behind closed doors and is not a hugger.
• In other royal news (opens in new tab), Kate Middleton is keen to ‘rewrite the royal rulebook’ and ‘look past protocols’ on royal visits, according to body language expert (opens in new tab).

Kate Middleton is on a hugging spree. Across her royal engagements this week, the royal has seemingly been embracing as many fans and familiar faces as she has time for her.

From hugging Captain Preet Chandi to congratulate her on her record-breaking expedition in Antarctica on Wednesday 8 February, to sweetly embracing one of her former teachers the following day, there has been no shortage of coverage detailing the affectionate actions of the Princess. 

And royal fans think there's a reason for this. The publicised embraces have left many speculating that this hugging spree is Kate's attempt to push back at Meghan Markle's claims she is overly formal and definitely not a hugger. 

In her and Prince Harry's Netflix docuseries, Meghan recalled the first time that she met Kate. Speaking about the meeting, where Meghan said she was "in ripped jeans and barefoot," Meghan said, "Like I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits."

"I guess I'd start to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside, carried through on the inside," she continued. "There is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and you relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me."

Despite Meghan's claims, a friend of Kate's recently told People that she does not see how Meghan got that impression from the "warm and friendly" Kate. She told the publication, "Kate's a big hugger. She is warm and friendly and greets everyone with a big hug and kiss. It comes naturally to her to be like that."

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