Bowing and Curtseying

[Dman]

Low curtseys are nice but I also understand that bows and curtseys are pretty much down to your own style and taste these days.

 

[Dman]

Princess Diana bows upon a King - YouTube

Here's a nice video of The Princess of Wales giving a nice curtsey. I can't make which King & Queen she's curtseying to though.

 

[Duchessmary]

Could it be Thailand??

 

[Artemisia]

Diana curtseys to the late King Birendra of Nepal. Next to him, is Queen Aishwarya and standing on Diana's right is Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal who is purported to have massacred the Nepalese Royal Family in 2001 (including his parents).

 

[TomBert]

Purported to have killed the family? I think that despite some conspiracy theories, it is generally accepted that the prince committed this act of regicide, patricide, matricide, fratricide and murder.

Dipendra kicked his father after he shot him - Nepali Times

 

[Artemisia]

Not to divulge in the discussion of the Nepalese tragedy, I didn't deny the Prince's involvement. However, since there are alternative versions, I used the word "purported". Having studied the incident at length, personally I do have some suspicions if not about the incident itself, then at the very least about the investigation process that the new King initiated.

 

[vkrish]

Here I got another point of reverse-sex-discrimination among royals.
In the video posted earlier on this page we have seen all the British royals dutifully bowing and curtseying Queen Sophia, along with KJC.
It means that universally Consorts are also bowed/curtseyed. Right?
Now see in this video..
Princess Diana meets Queen Beatrix - YouTube
You can see not even a single royal has bowed/curtseyed to Prince Claus.
You can see another video of State visit to Spain..
Staatsbezoek aan Spanje, 1985 - YouTube
Even here Elena and Christana dont curtsey to Prince Claus..
WHY WHY WHY
This is total discrimination of male Consorts. Prince Philip is so lucky he doesnt face this often.
Now I think most of you will try to defend this saying either of these two..
1.The Dutch are informal..(But British and Spanish never relax formalities, especially when they have to follow. Read bout Marina frowning when told she is not needed to curtsey Juliana, and insisted on doing so..)
2.That Prince Claus is not blood royal..(But does this stop them from curtseying Sylvia/Sonja/Sirikrit etc.)
I seriously condemn this discrimination, and would like all of you to join me in this..

 

[An Ard Ri]

I'm having trouble watching the second video link,keeps freezing and going back to the start just as the Queen and Prince Consort board the plane

 

[Artemisia]

I don't really know why no one bowed/curtseyed to Prince Claus; though not a Monarch himself, he was a Monarch's consort. I can only think of one reason for lack of curtseys from the Infantas and Diana: because they (Claus, Elena, Cristina and Diana) were all Royal Highnesses, they held equal rank so the ladies didn't have to curtsey to him.

I have to say though that it has always been my impression that a Queen Regnant's consort holds higher precedence that "ordinary" Royal Highnesses (bar from the heir to the throne and his spouse), meaning that if not Diana, than at the very least Cristina and Elena had to curtsey to Prince Claus.

 

[SLV]

The Dutch do not curtsey. So also do not require others to do so.
That said, I have seen princess Victoria curtsey to queen Beatrix. So I guess it is personal preference and perhaps prince Claus didn't want it.

 

[lancchick]

Dame Judy Dench curtseys to the Duchess of Cornwall at 0:16:

http://youtu.be/bqGt3exPArA

 

[AnnEliza]

I love Dame Judith Dench!

 

[vkrish]

Well it was like tit-for-tat for Camilla. She usually does that so-called curtsies, where you have to actually search for the curtsey. And now she got the same one.
Anyway something is better than nothing. Todays British women are so pathetic that they think refusing to curtsey the Queen makes them some super-confident-over-esteemed-ultramodern person. SO we have to appreciate Dame Judith's courtesy to curtsey the DssOC

 

[AnnEliza]

Well, I am American, but if I met the Queen I would curtsey. It's polite, especially if I were in the UK. When in Rome, and all that. But then I am old enough to have been taught to curtsey as a girl.

 

[AdmirerUS]

I have a question about the "hold on and curtsey" curtsey.

Once one is locked in by the Royal for the double air kiss (as is the case here with the Duchess and the Dame) is it custom to hold on or to break for the curtsey? Or is often one way and often the other?

 

[Dman]

Picture:
Princess Elizabeth is curtsying before king Haakon of Norway, London, June 1951:
http://elizabethii.tumblr.com/image/38497703419

 

[IloveCP]

Thanks for the photo. I think this is the first time I've seen the Queen curtsying as a Princess.

 

[NGalitzine]

^^^^^^
Well since she was Princess Elizabeth at the time you still haven't seen The Queen curtseying.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I found this cute picture of Princess Eugenie when she was younger, curtseying to the Queen Mother:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jMRCKlcFR...ying+to+the+late+HM+the+Queen+Mother+1997.jpg

 

[AdmirerUS]

That's adorable!

 

[Baroness of Books]

That is really a precious photo. They certainly learn protocol at an early age!

 

[Daria_S]

I found this cute picture of Princess Eugenie when she was younger, curtseying to the Queen Mother:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jMRCKlcFR...ying+to+the+late+HM+the+Queen+Mother+1997.jpg

How precious . I love Eugenie's dress.

 

[sarahedwards2]

I've seen this picture before, but didn't realize it was Eugenie!

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I've seen this picture before, but didn't realize it was Eugenie!

Yes, I found the picture on a royal blog and the caption underneath read 'A young Princess Eugenie curtseying to the Queen Mother'- or something similar.

 

[Warren]

Yes, it's Eugenie and it was taken in 1997 at the same time as these two:

v Viscountess Linley giving a low curtsey to the Queen Mother during the Royal Family's annual cruise around Scotland,
followed immediately by...
> Lady Sarah Chatto (going even lower).

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

Thanks for the pictures of Viscountess Linley and Lady Sarah, Warren!

 

[Dman]

I think there's also a picture of Sophie giving the Queen Mother a very low curtsey. The Queen Mother seemed to get the very lowest curtsey's.

Here is the then, Sophie Rhys-Jones giving a deep curtsey to HM The Queen Mother in 1995:

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...the-queen-mother-when-she-news-photo/52105613

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...bour-scotland-to-meet-the-news-photo/52116551

Sophie's been part of that family for a very long time.

 

[Baroness of Books]

I see it's a matter of choice when making these curtseys to bow your head, as Sophie did, or look directly at the person.

 

[Daria_S]

The three ladies' curtseys are very elegant, graceful, and full of reverence. Thank you to those who provided the photos.

 

[PssKatie]

I see it's a matter of choice when making these curtseys to bow your head, as Sophie did, or look directly at the person.

I once read that back in the '50s and '60s the rumour was that the Duke of Edinburgh would smile at you when you curtseyed if he found you unattractive. So many of the ladies started to bow their heads because they didn't want to see if he smiled at them.