Proof Princess Catherine IS A Hugger — Despite Meghan Markle’s Claim!

C. D.

Is Princess Catherine AKA Kate Middleton trying to shut down Meghan Markle’s claims that she’s not a hugger? Because she has been on a hugging spree lately!

In case you didn’t know, the accusation came from when the Duchess of Sussex recalled the first time she met the Princess of Wales and Prince William for the first in her and Prince Harry‘s Netflix docuseries and was shocked by how cold the interaction was.

“When Will and Kate came over and I had met her for the first time, they came over for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans and barefoot. Like I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn’t realize 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. 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.”

Related: Prince Harry Has ‘No Regrets’ & Is ‘Happy’ About Reaction To Tell-All Spare

Princess Catherine must have found out about what Megan said because she has been noticeably more relaxed about some unspoken royal rules – including taking selfies with and even hugging fans. This week, the 41-year-old visited Landau Forte College in Derby to celebrate Captain Preet Chandi for breaking the world record with her solo expedition across Antarctica. When posting about the event on Twitter, one picture was included in particular: a snapshot of her embracing Preet. Ch-ch-check it out (below):

And that wasn’t the only hugging instance! During her visit to the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall on Thursday, she bumped into one of her old history teachers from St Andrews Prep School in Berkshire, Jim Embury. Catherine instantly recognized the man and wrapped her arms around him, saying:

“Oh my goodness! My gosh, that’s taken me right back!”

She went on to tell him that she can remember exactly what his classroom looked like. When learning that Jim moved to Cornwall, she enthusiastically responded, “No way!” She then gushed:

“The things you taught me, I now teach to my children.”

Aww. You see their touching interaction (below):

While these are very sweet encounters with Catherine, her recent public appearances, where she can be seen snapping selfies and hugging, seem pretty intentional, given the timing with Meghan and Harry’s tell-all projects. Not to mention the fact that the Kensington Palace Twitter account pointedly included a pic of her hugging Preet. It definitely seems like a subtle way of hitting back at Meghan’s claims!

What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Do you think Catherine has been responding to the accusations through her public appearances? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via Netflix/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]

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