From the 'no touching' age of King George VI and the Queen Mother to Prince Harry and Meghan's passionate embrace: How the Monarchy has gone from stiff to schmaltzy in 100 years

When Prince Harry's great-grandparents announced their engagement in 1923, the palace released a photograph showed King George VI and the Queen Mother sitting face-forward and barely touching.

Fast-forward to less than a century later and newly released pictures of Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle could not be more different.

The heady shots - two in black and white - show the loved-up couple clasping onto one another as they stroll arm and arm through the grounds of Frogmore House, a private royal residence at Windsor Castle.  

Wearing a £56,000 gown and a million dollar smile, actress Miss Markle looks every inch the Hollywood princess as she poses alongside the red-haired royal.

The tone of the images are a world away from the staid engagement shots of her lover's grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip who kept close distance for their photograph in 1947.   

As these fascinating photographs document, Royal protocol has changed dramatically across the course of a century with the first kiss displayed in a the form of a peck between Prince Edward and Sophie in 1999.  

Eyes front, no touching: A static Queen Mother and her Prince look anything but pleased about their upcoming nuptials in 1923, a time where public displays of affection among the royals were not encouraged

Formal: The Queen and Prince Philip kept a safe distance for their engagement photograph in 1947, two years after the Second World War ended 

Growing closer: By 1960 as Princess Margaret got engaged to Antony Armstrong-Jones, protocol was loosening as a more relaxed image showed the pair smiling outdoors while standing in close proximity 

Shock horror! Holding hands: Princess Anne was the first British royal to hold the hand of her betrothed in 1973. Wearing an of-the-age pink suit and bouffant hair, the Princess looked jubilant as she smiled to Mark Phillips

A royal cuddle: Prince Charles and Princess Diana cut casual figures when they posed for their engagement portrait in 1981. Tieless and in matching blue shirts, Diana wrapped her arms around the royal in a relaxed pose 

Tender touch: Fergie and Prince Andrew mimicked the close portrait of their contemporaries Charles and Diana in 1986 with this informal photograph 

The first kiss: The slightly awkward peck captured between Prince Edward and Sophie in 1999 

Snuggle up, darling! Just seven years before Prince Harry posed with Miss Markle, his older brother Wills grinned toothily as he held his fiancée the then-Kate Middleton after their engagement in 2010. Their romantic pose was celebrated as natural and affectionate