Candid Scope
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 8, 2010
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LeBron violates royal protocol, puts arm around Kate Middleton during photo
As part of a holiday and also in support of the NBA Cares initiative, Prince William and Kate Middleton took in a Brooklyn Nets-Cleveland Cavaliers contest on Tuesday night, sitting alongside unofficial NBA ambassador Dikembe Mutombo. The royals sat courtside as the Cavaliers broke a tie game in the third quarter and ran away with a lopsided 110-81 score.
Following the contest, LeBron James was kind enough to pose for a photo opportunity with Prince William and Kate, but he appeared to break a protocol that even the most ardent stateside royal admirers might still be unaware of.Thats right, shock and horror! LeBron James put his arm around Kate Middleton!
James was handing the couple Cavaliers jerseys in the hours between the least-loved NBA trip out there a back-to-back scheduling that results in a late night trip through customs to Toronto. A photo op with the royal couple is clearly worth his time, though, with the Cavaliers supplying a Cambridge jersey for the former Miss Middleton and a Prince George jersey for the couples young son.
Still, in royal culture, acting normally in a chummy photo setup is a no-no, but the Duchess of Cambridge hardly appeared to be set off.
According to The Telegraph, there is precedent for this sort of transgression:
Oh, bloody hell.
Im a tea-sipping Anglophile who is literally currently wearing a shirt with the Royal Air Force roundel plastered on it. Last month I corrected my daughter when she told me she was playing My Country Tis of Thee on her violin, pointing out that the true name of the song is God Save the Queen. If anyone should know what to do in a photo op with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, its this bloke.
I still had no idea, until reminded, that this sort of thing was verboten. This isnt to say that the protocol should be abolished, far from it, nor should we down the visiting couple for not acting as the Romans (or, in this case, the northern Ohioans) do. Anyone criticizing LeBron James for not knowing what to do in this instance, however, is daft.
Kate, as is her custom, handled things properly. In reaction, we should all do the same.