Bowing and Curtseying


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Further to my posting - #2507 - of 08-24-2016, here's another 'How to Curtsy' video:


this time in Russian, posted by a stunning young woman in a lovely summer dress.
 
Izzie said:
Question: Would Kate not have to curtsy to Mary anyway as Mary out-ranks her? Is that not the usual protocol?
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How would Mary 'outrank' Catherine? Both of them are royal highnesses...
 
Mary is Crown Princess - that is next in line to the throne as Consort to the King.
Catherine becomes Crown Princess or in the English case Princess of Wales when Charles becomes King. In a sense Catherine is one rung down the ladder from the Crown as Queen Consort, whereas Mary is next in line as Consort.

I hope I have explained that well enough.
 
Tarlita said:
Mary is Crown Princess - that is next in line to the throne as Consort to the King.
Catherine becomes Crown Princess or in the English case Princess of Wales when Charles becomes King. In a sense Catherine is one rung down the ladder from the Crown as Queen Consort, whereas Mary is next in line as Consort.

I hope I have explained that well enough.
Click to expand...

I understand the difference between the wife of a first in line to the throne and a second in line to the throne but in terms of curtseying I believe the style is more important than their husband's place in line of succession: they are both royal highnesses. Does Marie also curtsey to Mary every time they meet? I only recall both of them curtsying to HM the queen (their mother-in-law).
 
Somebody said:
I understand the difference between the wife of a first in line to the throne and a second in line to the throne but in terms of curtseying I believe the style is more important than their husband's place in line of succession: they are both royal highnesses. Does Marie also curtsey to Mary every time they meet? I only recall both of them curtsying to HM the queen (their mother-in-law).
Click to expand...

I'm going to take a stab at this and suggest that I think Catherine will do a curtsey to Mary when they first meet purely out of respect for Mary being the Crown Princess of the country that Catherine is a guest in at the time. It warms my heart to see this kind of respect shown. Very similar to seeing Americans who do are not required to bow or curtsey to anybody but choose to out of respect for Queen Elizabeth II when they meet her. ?
 
An HRH doesn't curtsey to another HRH.
Plain and simple. If it happens, by mistake or by a conscious choice, it's not correct according to protocol.
 
I have never seen Catherine curtsey to any other royal, other than QEII. I have never seen her curtsey to Charles and Camilla either, who are the same level as CP Mary
 
CrownPrincessJava said:
I have never seen Catherine curtsey to any other royal, other than QEII. I have never seen her curtsey to Charles and Camilla either, who are the same level as CP Mary
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I saw her curtsy to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde In Belgium. I am pretty sure she must have curtsied to other foreign monarchs too like King Felipe VI, King Willem-Alexander, King Harald V and King Carl XVI Gustaf, but I don’t recall seeing any footage.
 
We'll she neither curtsey to another Crown Princess (consort) in Norway nor curtsey to the Crown Princess in Sweden when she visited the countries respectively as a guest couple years ago, I don't see why she will curtsey to Mary?
 
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Mbruno said:
I saw her curtsy to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde In Belgium. I am pretty sure she must have curtsied to other foreign monarchs too like King Felipe VI, King Willem-Alexander, King Harald V and King Carl XVI Gustaf, but I don’t recall seeing any footage.
Click to expand...

Sorry - my bad, I was meant to type "other than Regents and their Consorts". I thought I had changed it before I pressed "Submit Reply". Guess not! ?:flowers:
 
Osipi said:
I'm going to take a stab at this and suggest that I think Catherine will do a curtsey to Mary when they first meet purely out of respect for Mary being the Crown Princess of the country that Catherine is a guest in at the time. It warms my heart to see this kind of respect shown. Very similar to seeing Americans who do are not required to bow or curtsey to anybody but choose to out of respect for Queen Elizabeth II when they meet her. ?
Click to expand...

CP Mary and the DoC have met before not long after the Cambridge wedding. Neither of them curtsied to one another nor should they have.

They are of roughly equal rank.
 
Moonmaiden23 said:
CP Mary and the DoC have met before not long after the Cambridge wedding. Neither of them curtsied to one another nor should they have.

They are of roughly equal rank.
Click to expand...


Yes they are and would not need to curtsy to each other. They would both however curtsy to the reigning monarchs and their consorts.
 
I think it’s time to stop with the bow and curtsy. There was a time in the past but if the royals want to modernize the thrones as they say, IMO I can see this ritual to be changed. I have on occasion see the Oder or higher ranking Royal trying to stop the others from doing a box or crusty…..maybe a nod of the head would be fine. JMOO. I know many people like tradition to carry but I can see a change.
 
The problem I have with curtsies is how terrible most of them look. I can't think when I last saw a photo of a woman doing one that didn't just make me wince at the inelegance of it. They looked much neater back in the days when women wore full-length dressses which hid the knees and legs. Every time I see a woman in a trouser suit curtsying, I wish she would just give a small bow instead.
 
MsJulie said:
I think it’s time to stop with the bow and curtsy. There was a time in the past but if the royals want to modernize the thrones as they say, IMO I can see this ritual to be changed. I have on occasion see the Oder or higher ranking Royal trying to stop the others from doing a box or crusty…..maybe a nod of the head would be fine. JMOO. I know many people like tradition to carry but I can see a change.
Click to expand...
The King of Sweden abolished the formal curtsey when he ascended the throne in 1973, but we still see people curtsey to members of the Royal family by their own choice. Although it becomes rarer it seems that it'll stick around for quite some time yet.
 
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Sionevar said:
The problem I have with curtsies is how terrible most of them look. I can't think when I last saw a photo of a woman doing one that didn't just make me wince at the inelegance of it. They looked much neater back in the days when women wore full-length dressses which hid the knees and legs. Every time I see a woman in a trouser suit curtsying, I wish she would just give a small bow instead.
Click to expand...



I agree, curtsies look much better in skirts, at least knee length; and they look better in A-line than straight.
 
The Duchess of Cambridge curtsied to Queen Elizabeth II in a 1980s style
 
Not a lot of Bows and Curtseys when The Prince of Wales the Duke of Cambridge and
s wifes and Chldren enterred Westminster . Is it the really end of that ?
Kate did well , but she was the only one ?
 
eya said:
Princess Anne Marie curtsey to her future husband King Konstantinos in 1964

https://scontent.fath3-4.fna.fbcdn....UM4d_kRScupBlZoAPD2AC2FcwpGlQxhYw&oe=62477E76
Click to expand...
It was a very touching picture. He suddenly lost his father and became king, so she had to courtsey to him. He wears in his arm the mourning bandeau men used to wear to show mourning.
The last time she courtseyd to him was to the church a few seconds before they married and became husband and wife, so equal in rank.

Sent from my SM-A426B using The Royals Community mobile app
 
No Nows or Curtseys for the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg in Portugal ( Gala Evening)
 
The following film:


is entitled Queen Mother Presents Medals At Westminster Hospital (1953). It features many beautifully uniformed nurses curtseying - usually more than once - before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother as Her Majesty presents them with their prizes.

Between 1:30 and 2:04, nurses are seen curtseying as Her Majesty passes them by, even if they are not presented to or spoken to by Her Majesty. This is a practice that seems to have fallen out of favour in current times.
 
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Not some the Dutch RF would be used to except by some visiting royals perhaps.
 
I like the approach most RF's today take - no-one is expected or made to bow/curtsey but if people want to they can. I thing there is defo a time and a place for it - in a formal setting it looks right. Interesting about Victoria and her friends bowing/curtseying to Elena - in such an informal setting it is interesting to see she still chooses to do so.
 
The following video:


entitled Queen Mother Presents Medals At Westminster Hospital (1953) shows nurses curtseying beautifully as they are presented with their prizes by Her Majesty.

In the section between 1:30 and 1:45 two rows of nurses lining a corridor curtsey as Her Majesty passes between them.
 
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