The Real (Weird) Reason Why Royals Can't Shut Their Own Car Doors Has Nothing to Do with Etiquette

On Sept. 10, Prince Harry attended a reception to mark the fifth anniversary of the Invictus Games in London. Sounds like a pretty ordinary day for a royal, right?

Think again.

Upon arriving at this event, Prince Harry did the unthinkable.

He.
Shut.
His.
Own.
Car.
Door.

(We'll pause for your gasps.)

Now, if you don’t recall the flak his wife caught for having the nerve to shut her own door after her first solo royal engagement in 2018 — seriously, Meghan Markle can’t ever catch a break — it's clearly his turn to face scrutiny for this choice.

Was Prince Harry rebelling against royal etiquette rules, was he trying to appear humble and normal, or was he just doing what literally any one of us would do upon exiting a car?

Until he calls us back we're left speculating on our own... and taking another trip down a Google rabbit hole.

It turns out that royals are not encouraged to shut their car doors, not because of etiquette, but because of a potential safety threat. The family travels in style, and that includes vehicles with self-locking doors when they’re out on official duties, meaning when the door shuts, the locks lock, too.

A source told The Sun earlier this year, “God forbid if anything did go wrong arriving at a royal engagement, but security need to be able to get them back into cars in seconds if needs be. If they’re closed and locked, it’s impossible.”

Now that that’s settled, just call us up when he's in an Uber pool, K?