As part of a holiday and also in support of the NBA Cares initiative, Prince William and Kate Middleton took in a Brooklyn Nets/Cleveland Cavaliers contest on Tuesday night, sitting alongside unofficial NBA ambassador Dikembe Mutombo. The royals sat courtside in the third quarter to a tied ballgame, only to watch as the Cavaliers took off on a 49-27 run to end the contest with a lopsided 110-81 score.
Superstar LeBron James was the impetus behind that run, pushing the ball and finding teammates on his way toward an 18-point, seven-assist game (the much-beleaguered Dion Waiters led the Cavs with 26 points). James was also likely the impetus for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s choice in NBA viewing, as the league’s best player and most popular star was likely considered to be a destination point of sorts for the young couple.
Following the contest, James was kind enough to pose for a photo opportunity with Prince William and Kate, but he appeared to break a protocol that even the most ardent stateside royal admirers are still unaware of. Watch:
That’s right, shock horror; LeBron James put his arm around Kate Middleton.
James was handing the couple Cavaliers jerseys in the hours between the least-loved NBA trip out there – a back-to-back scheduling that results in a late night trip through customs to Toronto. The royal couple is clearly worth his time, with the Cavaliers supplying a “Cambridge” jersey for the former Miss Middleton and a “Prince George” jersey for the couple’s young son, but James is to be credited for keeping up appearances prior to a trip that would have him shuffling into his hotel room in the wee hours.
Still, in royal culture, acting normally in a chummy photo setup is a no-no, but the Duchess of Cambridge hardly appeared to be set off. According to The Telegraph, there is precedent for this sort of transgression:
The breach of protocol echoed the time when Michelle Obama caused a stir by putting her arm around the Queen in 2009 .
The royals are on their first official trip to the US since 2011.
Oh, bloody hell.
I’m a tea-sipping Anglophile who is literally currently wearing a shirt with the Royal Air Force roundel plastered on it. Last month I corrected my daughter when she told me she was playing “My Country Tis of Thee” on her violin, pointing out that the true name of the song is “God Save the Queen.” If anyone should know what to do in a photo op with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, it’s this bloke.
I still had no idea, until reminded, that this sort of thing was verboten. This isn’t to say that the protocol should be abolished, far from it, nor should we down the visiting couple for not acting as the Romans (or, in this case, the northern Ohioans) do. Anyone criticizing LeBron James for not knowing what to do in this instance, however, is daft.
Kate, as is her custom, handled things properly. In reaction, we should all do the same.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
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