Last week, the Princess of Wales joined her husband for their first joint trip to Cornwall since becoming the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. While they were there, Kate unexpectedly (?) ran into one of her old teachers, and she chatted with the older gentleman briefly and then she gave him a hug and continued on with the event. The hug got a lot of play in the British media, almost as if it was set-up and Kate knew ahead of time that she was supposed to hug the man and give the photographers a good angle. I have no idea if it was prearranged or not – Kate’s a terrible actress and she has no pokerface, so I kind of believe that she was genuinely surprised to see her former teacher there and her enthusiasm was genuine.

Now, all that being said, it was the second time that week in which Kate hugged someone on camera. The other time was when she saw Captain Prett Chandi – the two women greeted each other with a particularly warm embrace. Orders have been given and a plan has been put into action: Operation Hugs and Buttons. Even People Magazine openly suggested that this is a change in Kate’s personal branding from icy bitch to affectionate hugger, and it’s all to do with Meghan:

Kate Middleton is on a hugging spree. The Princess of Wales, 41, was quick to embrace some familiar faces during royal engagements this week. While congratulating Captain Preet Chandi on her record-breaking expedition in Antarctica during a school visit on Wednesday, Kate greeted the explorer with a big hug. Another sweet moment came on Thursday during Princess Kate and Prince William’s visit to Cornwall, when she reunited with one of her former teachers.

Although Meghan Markle said in the Netflix show Harry & Meghan, which premiered in December, that she was surprised by Kate and Prince William’s formality behind closed doors, a friend of the Princess of Wales recently told PEOPLE that the royal is quite affectionate.

“Kate’s a big hugger,” the friend said. “She is warm and friendly and greets everyone with a big hug and kiss. It comes naturally to her to be like that.”

Recalling the first time that Meghan met Kate, the Duchess of Sussex said on Netflix show that she was “in ripped jeans and barefoot” when Prince William and Kate came over for dinner.

“Like I was a hugger, always been a hugger,” Meghan, 41, said. “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,” she added. “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.”

[From People]

As I said previously, the “Kate is a hugger, we promise” thing is not the way to play this. Kate is a reserved, self-contained, unaffectionate person – that’s not a crime, and she should have owned that and acted like Meghan was wrong to go around hugging people constantly. That would have been the smart way to handle it. But no, we’re getting performative hugs from the Princess of Copykeening. It’s not enough that Kate copies Meghan’s clothes, jewelry, shoes, typeface, color schemes, billboards and charitable branding, Kate also has to copy Meghan’s affectionate, demonstrative nature. Pretty soon Kate is going to go around barefoot, claiming to be a California girl. It’s giving CREEPY.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The Princess of Wales visited Landau Forte College Derby on Wednesday 8th February with Captain Preet Chandi MBE to celebrate her return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavor, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph . Picture Arthur Edwards The Sun The Princess tries resistance training that Preet did to get fit for her trip,Image: 754844556, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: The Princess of Wales visits Landau Forte College Derby. The Princess of Wales joins world recording breaking Captain Preet Chandi on school visit to celebrate her expedition across Antarctica.The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavour, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph ., Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon

The Princess of Wales visited Landau Forte College Derby on Wednesday 8th February with Captain Preet Chandi MBE to celebrate her return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavor, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph . Picture Arthur Edwards The Sun The Princess tries resistance training that Preet did to get fit for her trip,Image: 754844565, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: The Princess of Wales visits Landau Forte College Derby. The Princess of Wales joins world recording breaking Captain Preet Chandi on school visit to celebrate her expedition across Antarctica.The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavour, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph ., Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon

The Princess of Wales visited Landau Forte College Derby on Wednesday 8th February with Captain Preet Chandi MBE to celebrate her return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavor, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph . Picture Arthur Edwards The Sun The Princess tries resistance training that Preet did to get fit for her trip,Image: 754844568, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: The Princess of Wales visits Landau Forte College Derby. The Princess of Wales joins world recording breaking Captain Preet Chandi on school visit to celebrate her expedition across Antarctica.The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavour, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph ., Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon

The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall while in Cornwall, during a visit to the Dracaena Centre in Cornwall, to learn about the wide variety of support and services that the organisation provides to local people, with a mission of building a healthy, happy and mutually supportive society. Picture date: Thursday February 9, 2023. Located between Falmouth and Penryn, the centre serves both towns and the surrounding rural area. It has been in operation since 2008 and supports around 10,000 people a year.,Image: 755039730, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon

The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall while in Cornwall, during a visit to the Dracaena Centre in Cornwall, to learn about the wide variety of support and services that the organisation provides to local people, with a mission of building a healthy, happy and mutually supportive society. Picture date: Thursday February 9, 2023. Located between Falmouth and Penryn, the centre serves both towns and the surrounding rural area. It has been in operation since 2008 and supports around 10,000 people a year.,Image: 755039780, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon

Falmouth, UNITED KINGDOM – The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visit Falmouth: Prince William and his wife Catherine visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. This is William and Kate’s first job as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The Royals will learn more about the rich maritime heritage of Cornwall and how the Museum is working to highlight the relevance of maritime issues to the present day. Pictured: Prince William, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 9 FEBRUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / UK: +44 208 344 2007 / *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*

Falmouth, UNITED KINGDOM – The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visit Falmouth: Prince William and his wife Catherine visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. This is William and Kate’s first job as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The Royals will learn more about the rich maritime heritage of Cornwall and how the Museum is working to highlight the relevance of maritime issues to the present day. Pictured: Prince William, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 9 FEBRUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / UK: +44 208 344 2007 / *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*

Catherine, Princess of Wales, visit to Landau Forte College, in Derby, to celebrate Captain Preet Chandi’s return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Captain Preet Chandi Where: Derby, England, United Kingdom When: 08 Feb 2023 Credit: PA Images/ Images **North America Rights Only**

Catherine, Princess of Wales, visit to Landau Forte College, in Derby, to celebrate Captain Preet Chandi’s return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Captain Preet Chandi Where: Derby, England, United Kingdom When: 08 Feb 2023 Credit: PA Images/ Images **North America Rights Only**

The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall while in Cornwall, visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, to learn more about the rich maritime heritage of Cornwall and how the museum is working to highlight the relevance of maritime issues to the present day. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales reunited with an old school teacher of hers Where: Cornwall, England, United Kingdom When: 09 Feb 2023 Credit: PA Images/ Images **North America Rights Only**

The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall while in Cornwall, visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, to learn more about the rich maritime heritage of Cornwall and how the museum is working to highlight the relevance of maritime issues to the present day. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales reunited with an old school teacher of hers Where: Cornwall, England, United Kingdom When: 09 Feb 2023 Credit: PA Images/ Images **North America Rights Only**