the royal wave, also known as a regal wave, pageant wave, parade wave, or miss america wave, is a similar but distinct kind of hand waving gesture in which a person executes something alternatively described as either a 'plastic grin' with 'fingers cupped' and 'forearm swaying side-to-side' or a "vertical hand with a slight twist from the wrist". the gesture is often performed, to various degrees, by different members of the british royal family, signaling anything from regality, class and control to elegance, restraint and character.