NO ONE EXPECTED IT — but Catherine and Princess Anne’s surprise day out turned into a heartwarming display of royal harmony as cameras caught the exact moment the two moved in perfect sync.

From expert curtsies to clever autograph alternatives, Kate Middleton is a master of royal protocol.

A video of the Princess of Wales from her April 2022 engagement with Princess Anne has garnered over 3 million views on TikTok for her subtle way of making sure Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter led the way during their visit to the London headquarters of the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

The royal women arrived together in a car, with Kate exiting on the side closer to the sidewalk. However, she stood outside for a moment while Princess Anne made her way around the back of the vehicle. Kate then paced herself a step or two behind, allowing Anne to be the first to shake hands with their greeter at the entrance.

When the pair exited the building, Kate (then known as the Duchess of Cambridge) once again made sure Princess Anne was in front as they exited and received flowers from children.

The event was Princess Kate and Princess Anne’s first-ever joint outing. While Anne is the patron of the Royal College of Midwives, Kate is the patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists — making the perfect opportunity for them to team up and highlight organizations dedicated to improving maternal healthcare.

 

According to Debrett’s, Princess Kate outranks blood members of the royal family — but only when she’s with her husband, Prince William. The same goes for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

“Protocol dictates that when the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex are not accompanied by their husbands, Princess of the Royal Blood, such as Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, rank above them. However, when the Duchesses are accompanied by their husbands, the roles are reversed and the duchesses outrank the princesses,” they state.

At the time, Kate was not the Princess of Wales — the outing occurred before the death of Queen Elizabeth. But even currently as the wife of the heir, she is outranked by Princess Anne.

 

Debrett’s, the authority on royal etiquette and behavior, states that Princess Anne — as the sister of the monarch, King Charles — comes second in rank among royal women only to Queen Camilla, as the monarch’s wife. Kate is still outranked by the sovereign’s granddaughters, nieces and cousins when not accompanied by William.

Although Princess Kate, 41, was not raised in aristocracy, she’s become known as an expert in royal protocol. She never fails to dip into a curtsy when greeting King Charles and Queen Camilla, and she’s modeled her wardrobe — from her brightly colored ensembles to sensible nail polish colors — on Queen Elizabeth.

While always staying respectful of royal family members and others, Kate has broken from the norm on occasion. In recent months, she and Prince William have been quick to agree to a selfie, and they don’t sweat it when their nicknames are used instead of their royal titles.

When William and Kate visited Wales in 2022, Nicky Hurst of Country Fare Wholefoods and Fine Cheeses went with a casual address when the couple stopped by the cheese stand at Abergavenny Market.

“They are lovely,” Hurst told PEOPLE. “I wasn’t sure what they’d be like and what to call them in terms of their titles. I called them ‘Kate’ and ‘Will,’ and they were really relaxed.”

And during a 2018 event where Prince William and Kate visited the charity Centrepoint, fellow lunch guests were given a laminated card with a run-down of how to interact with the couple. The guidelines included that Prince William and Kate would initiate handshakes and a “respectful lowering of the head” was appropriate over a bow or curtsy.

According to attendee Chelsea Jenkins, Prince William “just laughed” about the card. “He said something about updating it,” she added.

Princess Kate recently added some new titles to her royal résumé. On Friday, Buckingham Palace and King Charles announced new military appointments for nine members of the royal family including the Princess of Wales. She became the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Coningsby.

The last appointment is especially sentimental for Kate, as one of her grandfathers served in the Royal Air Force (RAF)