Bowing and Curtseying

[Lord Sosnowitz]

HRH The Prince of Wales bow to HM The Queen of Norway.

[auntie]

Originally Posted by assia

I saw a pic with Crown Princess Mette-Marit bowing to Crown Princess Victoria, I was a bit surprised as I thought that they would be at the same rank : one being the spouse of a crown prince and the other a crown princess on her own. Does anyone know something about it ?

I think CP Victoria is superior to CP MM, as she was bor Royal and will be Queen one day in her own right, rather than MM who will be Consort to the King of Norway.

[Warren]

Courtesy GREMB

This pic shows how it is done properly...:)
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[Australian]

lol, you cant beat that bow!

[auntie]

Originally Posted by Warren

Courtesy GREMB
This pic shows how it is done properly...
.

Who is bowing to whom? Is the lady the Queens Mum?

[Huddo]

bowing and curtseying are out of date and are of no relevance in todays modern world, I like how the Belgian and Dutch Royals don't expect people to bow or curtsey to them and I think all the other royals should follow their example. of course this is just my opinion

[Warren]

Originally Posted by auntie

Who is bowing to whom? Is the lady the Queens Mum?

The young boy is showing due deference to the then Queen Elizabeth, later The Queen Mother.
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[Warren]

Originally Posted by Huddo

bowing and curtseying are out of date and are of no relevance in todays modern world.

Maybe so, but some people will still choose to show their respect with a bow or curtsey. Nothing is compulsory; some will do so, some not. Relevance is determined by the people involved.
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[ElisaR]

Originally Posted by Warren

Maybe so, but some people will still choose to show their respect with a bow or curtsey. Nothing is compulsory; some will do so, some not. Relevance is determined by the people involved.
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Yes. I, for example, would like very much to curtsey to a Royal (especially QEII) because for me it's very important. Even though I know that I'll never meet her (and, in any case, I wouldn't never be introduced to her), sometimes I practice the curtsey in front of a mirror! One never knows...

Just last night I made a "curtsey dream": I was in the countryside and I was sitting at a pic-nic table with my brother. Suddenly the Queen arrived (in her usual country outfit, with headscarf), my brother and I stand up. The Queen was nearer to my brother and she shook hands with him, then she turned to me and we shook hands (she told something which I can't remember) and I performed a very deep curtsey. I felt very proud, but also a little disappointed because it wasn't very good - I was almost falling! The Queen was a bit amused by that, so we started laughing and... the dream ended.

[Princess BellyFlop]

I guess that whether or not we bow/curtsy is pretty much how polite or well-mannered we are, no matter our origin.

[RoyalProtocol]

I would like people to post pictures of Royals bowing and curtseying to each other and being bowed and curtseyed to be members of the public.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by RoyalProtocol

I would like people to post pictures of Royals bowing and curtseying to each other and being bowed and curtseyed to be members of the public.

We have an existing Bowing thread into which I have merged RoyalProtocol's post, and re-named the thread.
We once had a very good Curtseying thread (Royal-to-Royal) but unfortunately it disappeared into cyberspace.
Curtseying contributions welcome!

Warren
Royal Forums moderator

[bbb]

Originally Posted by assia

I saw a pic with Crown Princess Mette-Marit bowing to Crown Princess Victoria, I was a bit surprised as I thought that they would be at the same rank : one being the spouse of a crown prince and the other a crown princess on her own. Does anyone know something about it ?

i was wondering that also, who has to bow to who, who never bows to anybody and do family members have to bow everytime they see a relative of higher rank, the whole thing makes my head swim. glad i'm american and don't bow to anyone.

[Australian]

I would say that Mette-Marit curtseyed to Victoria because Victoria is a born Crown Princess, not just because of marriage and she has royal blood, whereas Mette-marit is only royal by marriage. Victoria will be the monarch, not consort as Mette-marit would be.

[crisiñaki]

What about Letizia? Will Elena and Cristina curtsey at her?

[Ms Griffin]

I would say Mette and Letizia got some lesson, namely all-things-curtsey, taught the wrong way.

Originally Posted by Princess BellyFlop

I guess that whether or not we bow/curtsy is pretty much how polite or well-mannered we are, no matter our origin.

That may now come across as harsh, but: That's nonsens. I'm both polite and well-mannered, but I would personally never curtsey. Simply because I was raised by a republican family, grew up in a republic, am republican and think curtseying is old-fashioned! And then you have of course all those people who are NOT white and or do NOT have european forefathers. :) :) :) So to say someone like me/ them is impolite and bad-mannered is just that, impolite and bad-mannered.

[HRH Elizabeth]

I think curtseying is a matter of personal choice, but I personally would do so simply because I think it is a sign of respect for the position, not the individual. I am not a huge fan of some of the new consorts but nevertheless, they will be the wives of the heads of state and their particular etiquette requires curtseying. In a way, for instance, the American President's being addressed as "Mr. President" is similar in that it is not the ordinary form of address for a president (usually they are styled as His Excellency). However, because people respect the position, they use the American style and not the more common "Your Excellency." Clearly, this isn't the best parallel as the presidency doesn't have the same connotations as a monarchy based on bloodline, but I think the point holds. Nevertheless, I wouldn't consider those who choose not to bow or curtsey to be impolite.

[HRH Kerry]

I agree. If I met royalty I too would curtsy. Why? Because I believe its the proper thing to do.

[HRH Kerry]

Originally Posted by Australian

I would say that Mette-Marit curtseyed to Victoria because Victoria is a born Crown Princess, not just because of marriage and she has royal blood, whereas Mette-marit is only royal by marriage. Victoria will be the monarch, not consort as Mette-marit would be.

Aren't the royal families rather "close"? I always thought that CP Victoria and CP Haakon were good friends and well as cousins. It could be that MM has love and respect for Victoria. Maybe it was done for those reasons. When I see my best friend I kiss her cheek and hug her. May this curtsy equates the same.

[soCal girl]

Originally Posted by crisiñaki

What about Letizia? Will Elena and Cristina curtsey at her?

I doubt it because they are now family. Letizia may be of higher rank as she is the wife of the heir but Crisitina and Elena are daughters of the King. When Felipe inherits the throne; I think Letizia, Cristina, and Elena will probably be pretty close that there is no need for that formality. Actually, if they did, Letizia might even feel weird.