One might have thought protocol could have avoided the style crisis at Dublin Castle yesterday on the occasion of the first official visit to Ireland by the Earl and Countess of Wessex (You may know them better as Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones).
Both the countess and the President, Mrs McAleese, turned up to launch a global awards conference in almost exactly the same shade of monarchical purple, complete with bold jewellery and black high-heeled shoes.
The two leading ladies managed to hide any discomfort at the sartorial coincidence by chatting during a photo-call about what a nightmare it was having the builders in. That was followed by the launch of the Millennium Gold Encounter, a three-week leadership conference being held in Dublin by The President's Award and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Prince Edward was delighted to be here in Ireland, he told delegates. And by Ireland, he said, he meant "the whole of the island".
Afterwards, Ms Kathleen Watkins strolled by and revealed that her husband, Gay Byrne, was relaxed about the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with royalty. "He would rather be in his rags walking the Hill of Howth, I think," she said.
The delegates, around 80 gold medal award winners from around the world, brought an international flavour to St Patrick's Hall. Guests included Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne and the British Ambassador, Mr Ivor Roberts. Post-lunch entertainment was provided by an exhibition of paintings by Mayo artist Thomas Collins, who had encountered the Earl of Wessex before.
Collins worked from an Hello! wedding photograph of the Countess to paint a portrait of her and she gasped with delight (or was that mortification?) when she was presented with it. "That's all my fantasies come at once," Collins declared to the bemused royals as he handed the countess a picture of her ancestors' Co Mayo home town of Rossport. "Go on Mayo," shouted someone.
Catching a few words with the royals took a lot of negotiation. "You won't be speaking to the principals you know," we were told by burly bodyguards at first, as though we were looking for interviews with panto stars. Thankfully the Fermanagh-born private secretary of Lord Wessex, Lieut Col Sean O'Dwyer, rubbed his whiskers thoughtfully and gave his permission.
Edward didn't look too pleased about it but Sophie was slightly more forthcoming, saying she was glad she was here and hoped to come back.
There were Irish relations on both sides of her family and she was "embarrassed" to say that she had never visited before. Asked was she enjoying married life she smiled and said "absolutely". "I'm just looking forward to getting into the house". Those builders again.