Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for selfies with delighted fans during visit to Liverpool

The Prince and Princess of Wales showed their natural rapport with members of the public as they stopped for selfies during a visit to Liverpool yesterday.

William and Kate, both 40, toured the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and smiled, joked and posed for a large number of photos with NHS staff, who they thanked for their efforts during the winter months.

Photos of the royal couple appeared online shortly after their visit as delighted fans posted their selfies with the Prince and Princess.

Despite scathing attacks from Prince Harry in his memoir Spare, including claims William pushed him over during an argument about Meghan, the Waleses were greeted with a huge cheer from the crowd as they arrived in the city.

The Prince and Princess of Wales showed their natural rapport with members of the public as they stopped for selfies during a visit to Liverpool yesterday

Although there is no official protocol on selfies, the royals have a rule against signing autographs, so that they can't be sold for large amounts of money. 

And in the early days of camera phones, they seemed to shy away from being snapped with members of the public with Princes William and Harry and King Charles all voicing their dislike of the method.

However, in recent years, they've become commonplace, with Charles posing for his first selfie all the way back in 2014, and other royals from Sophie Wessex to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following suit.

The late Queen Elizabeth II was not a fan of selfies and would politely decline if ever asked to take one, as she was thought to prefer eye contact. However, this was more of a personal preference than a rule of any kind.

Healthcare assistant Anna O'Hara asked the Prince (pictured right) and Princess of Wales for selfies on the critical care ward at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital

William and Kate, both 40, toured the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and smiled, joked and posed for a large number of photos with NHS staff, who they thanked for their efforts during the winter months

William has previously joked that he is 'allergic to selfies' while Harry once told a teenager that 'selfies are bad' and told her to 'just take a normal photograph' when she requested one in Australia in 2015.

However in recent times it appears some royals have grown fonder of the selfie, perhaps viewing the form of photography as way of embracing modern times and connecting with fans.

Despite previously admitting he 'hates' selfies, the King was among the first royals to be seen stopping for a snap with fans after cheeky scaffolder Sam Wayne took a picture with him in 2014.

Two years later the same construction worker, from Redruth, reduced, Kate, then the Duchess of Cambridge, to fits of giggles as he snapped a selfie with them on a tour of a housing development in Cornwall.

Photos of the royal couple appeared online shortly after their visit as delighted fans posted their selfies with the Prince and Princess. Pictured, Prince William with a delighted fan

Although there is no official protocol on selfies, the royals have a rule against signing autographs, so that they can't be sold for large amounts of money. Pictured, Kate posing with a fan

Prince William pushed the trend further in 2014 when he actually took the picture himself while posing for a snap with a schoolgirl after she visited the Sandringham Estate on Christmas Day.

The Duke ended up photographing himself with the schoolgirl, Madison Lambe, 12, because she was too nervous to press the button on her phone.

William seems to have grown more accustomed to the selfie over the years, with the royal melting hearts when he put his tour of Ireland on hold to stop for a selfie with little girl Jennifer Malone in March 2020.

Kate has always seemed to be comfortable with the selfie, going viral in 2014 when she took a snap high-fiving a youngster in Christchurch before posing with various well-wishers on a walkabout in Sydney.

And in the early days of camera phones, they seemed to shy away from being snapped with members of the public with Princes William and Harry and King Charles all voicing their dislike of the method. Pictured, Kate posing with a fan

Meanwhile, Prince Harry welcomed the selfie after marrying Meghan Markle in 2018 when the pair happily posed for several photos with royal supporters during their 16-day tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

It also seems that Queen Consort Camilla has always been on board with the selfie, having posed with various fans over the years.

In June 2016, she proved she's a good sport by snapping a selfie with staff member Biffy Mackay, 27, at the Social Bite cafe in Edinburgh, which feeds, trains and employs members of the homeless community.

Sophie Wessex has also been spotted indulging fans who asked for a selfie when she smiled with a group of youngsters while previously attending the New Forest and Hampshire County Show. 

As royal selfies appear to become more commonplace, fans may consider the practice a sign of a monarchy that is becoming more modern, as King Charles takes the reins.

The Prince and Princess of Wales arrive to officially open the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool

However, despite becoming more and more common for the royals, Kate told one royal fan yesterday: 'I'm going to be told off by William' after posing for a photo - suggesting the Prince of Wales may not have changed his mind on selfies after all.

The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Merseyside hospital on their first royal engagement of this year - and also their first official appearance since the release of Prince Harry's long-awaited but explosive memoir, Spare.

Among the accusations he levels at the Waleses in the book are that William told his little brother that he had been 'brainwashed by therapy. 

He also claimed the couple had 'stereotyped' his wife as a 'biracial American actress' which meant she was less likely to be accepted as a royal. 

Despite the Duke's scathing claims, the Prince and Princess of Wales were all smiles as they arrived at the hospital to thank health workers for their hard work. 

The state-of-the-art hospital is the biggest in the country and provides inpatients with ensuite bathrooms, designed to improve patient experience. 

It opened its doors in October 2022, replacing the old hospital which had served the community for over four decades.

In what may be considered a show of solidarity, the defiant couple wore colour co-ordinated outfits in navy blue and dark green as they waved to royal fans on arrival at the hospital.

Kate wore a £995 Holland Cooper double-breasted tartan trench coat made from merino lambs wool.

Leaving it open on the bright but cold day, she also showed off her Ceffin Eva rib-knit wool maxi dress, costing £290, with a flared skirt and funnel neck. 

She accessorised it with a black clutch bag, letting her long hair blow loose in the wind.  She also wore minimal make-up, while also opting to wear Princess Diana's earrings made of sapphire and diamond. 

Read more: 

• Smiling Prince William tells adoring crowds he will 'keep going' as he and Princess of Wales visit Liverpool in wake of Harry's searing attacks on royal family - as couple appear to ignore questions about Duke of Sussex's bombshell memoir 
• 'This is a Freudian nightmare': Audiobook listeners left horrified as Prince Harry says he felt like his 'mother was right there in the room' as he applied the Elizabeth Arden cream she loved to his frostbitten penis
• A united fashion front! Princess of Wales recycles Holland Cooper coat to match her husband's green and navy outfit as they step out for the first time since Spare - and wears Diana's earrings for good measure