Sure The Royals are preposterous, but what a source of entertainment!

ME: The very idea of the British Royal Family in a modern context is utterly ridiculous.

Also ME: The British Royal Family is an endless source of fascination.

I'm not going to lie about having no idea how this dumb-ass article on Camilla appeared to me. I know exactly why the royals keep showing up as suggested content. It's because, as often as not, I'll click through the dumb-ass headline that shows up as suggested content, and read the entire dumb-ass article about why Zara Tindall didn't want her kids to have titles. Why Wills won't invite Harry to his coronation, if and when the day comes. How Andrew is once again demonstrating that he's a meretricious buffoon. 

I lapped up The Crown. And the more-facts/less-conjecture The Royal House of Windsor on Netflix, even though it was less juicy and enthralling than The Crown.

Prince George's nickname. Click. Through.

Wallis Simpson as fashion icon. Click. Through.

I do NOT seek out stories on the royals. But when they come my way, this Irish-American girl, raised to scorn the Brits and the entire royal apparatus, will click right on through.

So of course I was going to go for it when this headline and subhead appeared right before my wondering eyes: 

Queen Camilla improperly overtakes King Charles III in act seen as breach of protocol during public greeting

Royal watchers left stunned after blink-and-you-miss-it moment sparks fresh chatter

As a character, Camilla is, of course, hard to resist. The earthy, horsey, royal-ajacent gal that Charles shoulda/woulda/coulda married if only she'd been a virgin. The ever-present third party to the marriage of Chuck and Di. The late in life romance that finally got to play out.

And here she was, unconsciously or deliberately spitting in the face of royal protocol during what should have been a routine walkabout to meet and greet the common folk.

As the King paused to greet the crowd with his usual gentlemanly grace, Camilla casually picked up the pace and, in full view, overtook him. It may have lasted just a few seconds, but the implications landed with a thud.

Royal etiquette isn't just old-fashioned-it's the monarchy's playbook

For a family that thrives on symbolism and precise protocol, who walks in front of whom is no small matter. In this case, Queen Camilla's brief overstep broke with the deeply rooted rule that the monarch always leads. (Source: Marca)

Queen - or is it still Queen Consort - wrong foots it in the public eye, jumping ahead of the ultimate liege lord. Heaven forfend! (I've always wanted to say 'heaven forfend.')

I don't think that this is quite on the same level as when, during his first reign of terror, our Boor-in-Chief walked in front of Queen Elizabeth, nearly body blocking her so he could be right up front. Never mind royal protocol. Americans really don't have to observe it, do we? Not yet, anyway. But here was Good Queen E, old enough to be Trump's mother. At min, he should have walked beside her. But no...

Royal watchers were quite quick to point out that King Charles - and it still takes some getting used to "King Charles" being anything other than a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - with his characteristic "royal grace"... "clearly aware, handled it with polished charm, subtly catching up to retake his place."

Royal watchers have pretty much warmed to Charles, even though his mother was a tough act to follow. But they have not wholeheartedly warmed to Camilla

And moments like this don't help. Some say it's her relaxed, almost carefree style-others think there's a more ambitious streak behind that easygoing front. Whether intentional or accidental, overtaking the King in public sends a loud message: one that doesn't sit well with traditionalists who believe in the order and structure the monarchy represents.

Tut-tut-tutty-tut-tut.

I find all the who-curtsies-to-whom, who's entitled (literally) to use which royal style, who gets to okay the bride or the groom (that would be the reigning monarch) nonsensical. Fascinating nonsense, but nonsense none the less. 

Yet it's all so Duke of Earl...

At some point, the Brits will likely join that other European nations in jettisoning more of the trappings of royalty - including official authority over some matters -  and use the Royal Family for (less costly) symbolic and touristic purposes only. 

Until then, they remain quite the source of entertainment.

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Image Source: CNN