From boasting about money to cutting in a queue and even going to the pub on an empty stomach, Brits have been revealing the things visitors should never say or do when visiting the UK.
And some of the tips may come in handy for American Meghan Markle now that she’s setting up home with Prince Harry at Kensington Palace in London.
The advice was aired after an internet user asked: ‘What should I never do or say in Britain?’
The tips on what not to say or do when in the UK could come in handy for Prince Harry’s American fiancee Meghan Markle
Hundreds of Brits took to the thread on Quora to share their opinions with people who are new to the country.
Many talked about the British love of queuing with Nick Travers warning visitors it is never acceptable to cut in line.
He wrote: ‘Never, ever, queue jump. Seriously. We Brits are normally passive aggressive about things that annoy us (fuming silently and quietly muttering sarcastic comments, but otherwise remaining polite), but if you queue jump we can get quite vocal and aggressive about it.’
While Jacky Dror warned that it is best not to indulge in small talk with strangers, and she added: ‘Never tell anyone in the UK to “have a nice day”.
Many of the people on the thread warned against tourists in the UK queue-jumping, saying it is a sure-fire way to rile Brits
‘We British just hate that feel-good factor of exchanging niceties with complete strangers.’
And Iztok also said that visitors who start talking to Brits about money also risk getting on their bad side.
He explained: ‘We are surprisingly uncomfortable talking about how much we earn or how much money we have.’
British cuisine and drinking culture also came up in the thread with Steve Jenkins warning against not eating before a night at the pub.
One person warned tourists never to go to the pub on an empty stomach – because Brits like to drink rather a lot
He quipped: ‘Do not go to the pub on an empty stomach. British people drink like they don’t want to live and it would be considered a gross breach of etiquette if you do not.’
While Lucia Little claimed that the pronunciation of scone should never sound like ‘stone’ with others saying a trip to the UK wouldn’t be complete without eating one.
Tony Bartlett added that you should never use the term holidays when referring to Christmas, adding: ‘Never call Christmas “the holidays” as in “Happy Holidays”. Christmas is a religious festival, a mass, celebrating the birth of Christ hence Christ’s Mass.’
While Barnaby Page added to the thread useful tips such as not expecting shops to stay open really late and underestimating the size of the country.
The pronunciation of scone was also mentioned with one warning it should never sound like stone
However, one of his tips that works for visitors but probably won’t for Miss Markle, is constantly asking about the royal family and the Queen.
He wrote: ‘Don’t expect a lot about the Queen and the Royals.
‘Oddly, apart from some minor (but obvious) signals like her head on the stamps and the coins, once you get away from the immediate vicinity of the royal palaces there’s not a lot to indicate that Britain is a monarchy.’