Bowing and Curtseying

[Warren]

Prince Albert II is a reigning monarch and a sovereign Prince, and therefore bows to no other Royal. The style of HSH, HRH or HM is not relevant in this case.
Mette-Marit is the consort of an heir to the throne, as is the Duchess of Cornwall. In terms of protocol they are equals.

 

[RoyalProtocol]

Prince Albert II is a reigning monarch and a sovereign Prince, and therefore bows to no other Royal. The style of HSH, HRH or HM is not relevant in this case.
Mette-Marit is the consort of an heir to the throne, as is the Duchess of Cornwall. In terms of protocol they are equals.

I agree, the HSH makes no difference in Alberts case, the only person he would bow to is the Pope, being a Catholic Sovereign.

Mette-Marit and Camilla are indeed equals and as such need not curtsey to each other.

 

[pinkylou]

then if prince albert marries, his wife wouldn't need to bow to other monarchs, or is that different?

 

[Margrethe II]

then if prince albert marries, his wife wouldn't need to bow to other monarchs, or is that different?

That is correct pinkylou

"MII"

 

[Her_Majesty]

A man bowing in front of Beatrix

ANP

and
Beatrix and Henri bowing in front of the OrangeFlag

ANP

 

[mtbcm]

Princess Diana Curtsying to Spanish Royals - April 22, 1986
Princess Diana and Prince Charles greet Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos of Spain upon their arrival at Heathrow Airport.



Duchess of Gloucester in Green Velvet Gown - February 9, 1989
Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester attends a charity banquet at the Hilton Hotel. A guest curtsies when she meets the Duchess.




Woman Greeting King Carl Gustav of Sweden - July 13, 1975
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden shakes the hand of a woman in a London factory. The King also visited a Swedish church and retirement home during his 1975 visit to London.





Princess Martha Louise of Norway [Martha-Louise] curtsying to Queen Elizabeth II during the Queen's state visit. - May 31, 2001





(Source: CORBIS)​

 

[Duchess]

I have a question about bowing and curtseying:
is it wrote anywhere how deep and for which leg etc. ladies should doing that?

This is a quote from a gov't of Canada site, protocol section. It is in regard to meeting HM QEII so I'm not sure if it applies to other Royals.

Curtsy/bow
It is up to those meeting The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family to choose whether or not they wish to bow/curtsy or simply shake hands.
Description of a bow/curtsy for those who choose to make it: Men: a neck bow - just a little more than a nod of the head; Women: the right foot is placed behind the left heel, and the knees bent slightly. It is quite in order to shake hands if the opportunity presents itself and a member of the Royal Family offers to do so.

 

[zarzuela]

All pictures from Corbis.

1) The President of the Spanish Parliament curtsies to King Juan Carlos



2) The President of the Spanish Senate



3) A woman curtsies to King Juan Carlos upon arrival in Washington

 

[zarzuela]

Monsieur Chirac certainly knows how to greet a Queen: with a light bow and kissing her hand. All pictures from Corbis and Getty.

 

[zarzuela]

A few pictures from the gala dinner on the ocassion of the royal wedding in Madrid. Pictures from Getty Images.

1) Letizia curtsies to HRH the Infanta Margarita



2) Letizia's mother curtsies to HRH the Infanta Elena



3) Letizia curtsies to HM the Queen of Denmark



4) The former King of Italy bows and kisses the hand of Letizia

 

[PreDoc]

Curtsy/bow
It is up to those meeting The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family to choose whether or not they wish to bow/curtsy or simply shake hands.
Description of a bow/curtsy for those who choose to make it: Men: a neck bow - just a little more than a nod of the head; Women: the right foot is placed behind the left heel, and the knees bent slightly. It is quite in order to shake hands if the opportunity presents itself and a member of the Royal Family offers to do so.

Thanks Duchess ... it really is quite remarkable ** to me ** that anybody would voluntarily do such a thing. But to each his/her own

 

[zarzuela]

I find quite interesting that the Spanish royals bow and kiss the hands of the members of the upper clergy. Two examples below. Pictures from Getty Images.

Queen Sofia kissing the hand of the Pope




Greeting the Cardinal of Madrid:

 

[Bella]

I agree, PreDoc. Personally, I would never bow or curtsey to anyone. I feel it's demeaning and even insulting. And as an American, there's no reason I would ever need to as we don't follow this protocol with our elected officials. I also believe - and correct me if I'm wrong - that one needs only bow/curtsey to royalty if they represent your country/commonwealth. I remember a rock band, I think it was Fleetwood Mac, meeting a member of the British RF (I think the POW). The British members of the band bowed when shaking his hand while the non-British members merely stood and shook his hand.

 

[mtbcm]

Monsieur Chirac certainly knows how to greet a Queen: with a light bow and kissing her hand. All pictures from Corbis and Getty.

http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chirac2dw.jpg

I thought exactly the same, zarzuela, when the visit happened.

Another person I like to see kissing Queen Sofia's hand is Prince Felipe.

And the Queen offers a broad smile back what makes the gesture sweeter.

Regards,
mtbcm

 

[sara1981]

Princess Martha-Louise curtseying to her dad the HM King Harald of Norway on state visit of Spain

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=247047&d=1149618794

 

[PreDoc]

I agree, PreDoc. Personally, I would never bow or curtsey to anyone. I feel it's demeaning and even insulting. And as an American, there's no reason I would ever need to as we don't follow this protocol with our elected officials. I also believe - and correct me if I'm wrong - that one needs only bow/curtsey to royalty if they represent your country/commonwealth. I remember a rock band, I think it was Fleetwood Mac, meeting a member of the British RF (I think the POW). The British members of the band bowed when shaking his hand while the non-British members merely stood and shook his hand.

I have thought about this some more since I left my last message and I've realized that these women receive outstanding salaries and benefits from the public purse and in return one of their duties is to curtsey so I have changed my mind: if I was on a government salary I would smile widely and curtsey as deeply as I could without falling over.

 

[grevinnan]

I personally would have no problem curtseying to a royal person. I respect the royalty as an institution and cultural heritage and the person representing it. Just as anglicans and catholics kiss their bishops rings. It has nothing to do with being inferior - and neither would I slap the president of the US on the back as a greeting in order to show that we are equal. Feeling inferior comes from within - respecting roles - whether royalty, member of the US Supreme court (judges are addressed as Your Honor) or perhaps only a much older person - does not make for inferiority.

 

[Olka]

I noticed that the Dutch Royals are curtseying in front of the Flag of Orage-Nassau (???). Even the Queen.
Does anyone know more about it?

I suppose it's a matter of respect, as the national/royal flag is a symbol.
About curteysing to the monarch, as far as I remember one of the Dutch queens (Wilhelmina or Juliana....I don't remember..maybe Juliana...) eliminated the ritual of curteysing in the Dutch Royal Court, I read something about that somewhere. That's why the princesses at the Dutch court do not do that in front of the Queen. I don't know if they do it to other Queens and Kings, it would be interesting to know.

 

[zarzuela]

Mette Marit and Queen Sofia of Spain in Oslo:

Pictures from Nettavisen originally posted by Larzen

 

[PreDoc]

Do Queens curtsey to Kings?

 

[Juanita]

Do Queens curtsey to Kings?

No! Kings kiss Queens' hand! (if i'm not wrong...)

 

[mtbcm]

No! Kings kiss Queens' hand! (if i'm not wrong...)

Maybe Royal Protocol can help but I believe that between equals Kings to Queens Queens to Kings there's no bowing or curtseying.

 

[Juanita]

Maybe Royal Protocol can help but I believe that between equals Kings to Queens Queens to Kings there's no bowing or curtseying.

There isn't but look at Spanish visit to Norway, we can see King Juan Carlos kissing Sonja's hand and King Harald kissing Sofia's hand.

 

[sara1981]

Do Queens curtsey to Kings?

NO! but King getting kiss cheek and kiss arms to HM Queen very respectives if who are head of states dont bowing and curstey.

same Prince Charles always do that kiss his mother the HM Queen Elizabeth on her arms and cheek very respectives because he is future King of England but he can kiss to any foreign Queen with arms and kiss the cheek also he can do that.

but i always respectives to any foreign Queen and King who still as head of states dont bowing and curstey.

im not sure about Japan Royals have same?

 

[Duchess]

I find quite interesting that the Spanish royals bow and kiss the hands of the members of the upper clergy.

It's not just the royals that do this. when meeting the Holy Father or a Cardinal, Roman Catholics kiss their ring.

I agree, PreDoc. Personally, I would never bow or curtsey to anyone. I feel it's demeaning and even insulting. And as an American, there's no reason I would ever need to as we don't follow this protocol with our elected officials. I also believe - and correct me if I'm wrong - that one needs only bow/curtsey to royalty if they represent your country/commonwealth. I remember a rock band, I think it was Fleetwood Mac, meeting a member of the British RF (I think the POW). The British members of the band bowed when shaking his hand while the non-British members merely stood and shook his hand.

a custom, that is completely harmless and that some people prefer to practice, isn't demeaning and insulting. it's a way to show respect for our monarch. if you choose not to do it, it's perfectly acceptable but please don't call it demeaning and insulting.

 

[TatoïPalace]

I like very much Mette-Marit's way of curtsying.

 

[zarzuela]

Princess Benedikte of Denmark and King Juan Carlos of Spain in Madrid. Picture from Corbis.

 

[crisiñaki]

Princess Benedikte of Denmark and King Juan Carlos of Spain in Madrid. Picture from Corbis.

Wow, she's so elegant at everything she does!

 

[Lunalu]

This is so sweet !

A great old lady, but still not forgetting what she is supposed to do !

 

[zarzuela]

HRH the Infanta Elena cursties to Queen Elizabeth in Madrid in 1988. Picture from Corbis.