Bowing and Curtseying


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vkrish said:
I am no way a Diana-fanatic-Camilla-basher..
But I seriously find her curtsies are far more less than impressive..
Saw her curtseying the Queen at Ascot walkabout once and at Royal Wedding..Absolutely no grace/beauty..A totally strange action..Just for the sake of doing..Something performed by confused onlookers in crowds when Queen passes by them..
It is not a good precedent to be set by a future Queen Consort..Every royal woman, right from Anne to Eugenie/Autumn, and even Kate does much better curtsies..
Maybe bcos she cant get it right now as she didnt have good 'practice' in her youth..lolz
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she's older as well than eugenie, autumn or kate. who knows, maybe she had an operation when younger or is simply not as flexible/in shape to curtsy deeply.
 
Expecting a woman in her sixties, with a family history of osteoporosis, to curtsey deeply in high heels is totally unrealistic. My mother's about to turn 60 and I know if she tried a low curtsey, there's no guarantee that she'd be able to get up again without assistance. She'd be more likely to end up on her rear end with her legs in the air.

It's the sentiment that counts with a curtsey, not the depth.
 
Dman said:
Well It may be hearsay on Thatcher's curtseys but I think The Queen is fine with a slight bend of the knee and bow. I somehow think it's just up to the individual on how they curtsey and bow. Some choose to drop low and some don't.
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Poor woman..The Queen has to be fine with everything and anything. She hardly has a choice. She cant open her mouth and say. And if ever she really opens her mouth all hell will break loose.
Its indeed so amazing to see how much the world has changed from her point of view and still she is adapting constantly without a fuss..
I dont understand what people are going to lose by doing a simple curtsey to the Queen. Why do they put their ego there..It doesnt make you inferior or subservient to the Queen..Just a tradition..I really hate those women who just keep staring at Queen as she passes by them in Abbey o smwhr without curtseying..Even when she was going to address the joint sitting of Parliament for Diamond Jubilee hardly anyone curtsied her..Am I the only one who feels bad for this
Ok I know all the stuff about change/freedom/choice and all..but still..
And I am not talking about people from US..just British..
 
vkrish said:
Poor woman..The Queen has to be fine with everything and anything. She hardly has a choice. She cant open her mouth and say. And if ever she really opens her mouth all hell will break loose.
Its indeed so amazing to see how much the world has changed from her point of view and still she is adapting constantly without a fuss..
I dont understand what people are going to lose by doing a simple curtsey
Ok I know all the stuff about change/freedom/choice and all..but still..
And I am not talking about people from US..just British..
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I looked at the footage from today's Jubilee Tribute unveiling in Windsor and there were some curtseys - but more not. And also not a lot of bows. But there was cheering, applause and a lot of happy faces. I think the family realizes the affection of the public is more important than a gesture is.

I go back to the royals home page where it says to do what you are comfortable doing. I think the family has realized that hardly anyone learns to bow or curtsey anymore. I think I learned in elementary school - but I am sure it has long ago left the curriculum.

So to demand that is just to put a lot of people in a awkward situation. Bows are fairly easy, but a curtsey easily ends up in a stumble - and who wants to stumble in front of the Queen and a bunch of dignitaries as well as the press?
 
A correct British bow is from the neck, not the waist. This is why you don't often see men bowing low to the Queen. A bow properly performed can be easily missed or presumed to be a nod of the head.

Given how limited the bow is nowadays in the UK, the idea of really deep curtseys is even more silly.
 
EIIR said:
Expecting a woman in her sixties, with a family history of osteoporosis, to curtsey deeply in high heels is totally unrealistic. My mother's about to turn 60 and I know if she tried a low curtsey, there's no guarantee that she'd be able to get up again without assistance. She'd be more likely to end up on her rear end with her legs in the air.

It's the sentiment that counts with a curtsey, not the depth.
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Hey, sometimes that kind of stuff can be difficult even in you 20's and 30's. I say thank God us guys don't have to dip low because The Queen would just have to meet me half way.
 
I too think people should at least give a nice curtsey and bow when The Queen passes by and some people do but times are changing and some just don't do it. I don't think they are trying to disrespect Her Majesty but the Palace always say do what's comfortable to you and you don't have to give a curtsey if you don't want to.

If I ever had the chance to meet The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh or any senior member of the royal family, I wouldn't mind giving them a nice bow.
 
Artemisia said:
Considering Camilla's position as consort of the Heir Apparent to the Throne, there aren't many people she has to curtsey to - just foreign crowned Heads of State, their spouses, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
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Don't you mean royal Heads of State, as there are only two crowned Heads of State today as far as I know, queen Elizabeth and king Bhumibol of Thailand.
 
Meraude said:
Don't you mean royal Heads of State, as there are only two crowned Heads of State today as far as I know, queen Elizabeth and king Bhumibol of Thailand.
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Indeed, that's precisely what I meant. :)
Thanks for spotting, already corrected.
 
Meraude said:
Don't you mean royal Heads of State, as there are only two crowned Heads of State today as far as I know, queen Elizabeth and king Bhumibol of Thailand.
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+ the Kings of Tonga, although the new monarch has yet to be formally crowned.
 
AdmirerUS said:
Curtsey or not - that's a lovely smile she gave to the DOC (or to the DOC's group)
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It was a lovely smile, wasn't it! :D It did look like a curtsey, but Anne seemed to have been speaking to Camilla for a few moments before that bob so the timing seems wrong. Unless she did it for a joke, as in, 'I'll bob and they'll all think I'm curtseying to you; that will have them buzzing for years'. That could account for the smile, too. I've been trying to think what else she might have been doing if not curtseying, and so far I've drawn a blank.

I confess that first time through I missed the moment completely because I was sidetracked watching a man I think was the Duke of Devonshire moving in front of Anne and speaking to HM. I've been watching that series about Chatsworth otherwise I wouldn't have recognised him.
 
You can see princess Christina of Sweden in the old Swedish court dress make a very deep curtsey to her brother king Carl Gustav in this film from the opening of the Swedish parliament in 1974, she almost disappears behind the barrier of the balcony: Riksdagens högtidliga öppnande 1974 | SVT Play The curtsey is at 35,45 minutes into the clip.
 
sarahedwards2 said:
What about Princess Anne? I've seen her "curtsy before her mother, Her Majesty the Queen" in videos of both her wedding and Alexandra's; to the King and Queen of Norway (each on separate occasions), to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (although shielded by Diana), and in a video of Ascot. Are there any other occasions which I'm not aware of?
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Fine, the one at Ascot is hardly a curtsy, even from Anne. (I don't mean to be rude or anything!:))But my question still stands: Are there any other pictures or videos out there of Anne curtsying, besides what I've described? Here are the pictures of her curtsying to Harald and Sonja that I mentioned.

Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
 
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Meraude said:
You can see princess Christina of Sweden in the old Swedish court dress make a very deep curtsey to her brother king Carl Gustav in this film from the opening of the Swedish parliament in 1974, she almost disappears behind the barrier of the balcony: Riksdagens högtidliga öppnande 1974 | SVT Play The curtsey is at 35,45 minutes into the clip.
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Thanks for posting this video. I do wish the Swedish Parliament was still Opened in this way. It's seem so elegant than it is today. Princess Christina looked beautiful and that was a very elegant curtsey.
 
Roslyn said:
It was a lovely smile, wasn't it! :D It did look like a curtsey, but Anne seemed to have been speaking to Camilla for a few moments before that bob so the timing seems wrong. Unless she did it for a joke, as in, 'I'll bob and they'll all think I'm curtseying to you; that will have them buzzing for years'. That could account for the smile, too. I've been trying to think what else she might have been doing if not curtseying, and so far I've drawn a blank.
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Tnx Roslyn - I thought the same thing - that it was prompted by some snarky press piece about who should curtsey to whom and they made it into a laugh. LOL
 
Here in this video you can see during the State Visit of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1967, you will see the Duchesses of Gloucester & Kent and Princess Marina curtsey to The King:

KING FAISAL ARRIVES - British Pathé
 
The only curtsey I recall Anne doing was to her mother after her wedding to Mark Phillips. :)
 
Duchessmary said:
The only curtsey I recall Anne doing was to her mother after her wedding to Mark Phillips. :)
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I loved that one! Very deep and she kept her distance, not like Kate who literally was right in front of the Queen. Anne also held her curtsy for a moment with her head bowed. Kate's was too quick and shallow and she didn't bow her head.

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With all due respect though, I think we expect Anne to have a deeper, more old school curtsey than Catherine. She was brought up with it in a time when it was seemingly regarded as more important than it is today. Catherine's curtsey was fine.

I like the story of when Zara received her MBE; she helped the other women at the investiture with their curtseys as she obviously knew how to do one properly.
 
PssKatie said:
With all due respect though, I think we expect Anne to have a deeper, more old school curtsey than Catherine. She was brought up with it in a time when it was seemingly regarded as more important than it is today. Catherine's curtsey was fine.

I like the story of when Zara received her MBE; she helped the other women at the investiture with their curtseys as she obviously knew how to do one properly.
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Oh wow, I hadn't heard that but that is a great story.
 
Anne is the third-oldest woman in the immediate royal family (not counting cousins, etc.) after her mother and the Duchess of Cornwall. At 62, I'll bet she still curtsies really well for someone her age (she was taught by her nanny when she was around two years old). Camilla, on the other hand, is three years older and has a family history of osteoporosis, so she should be careful with those knees.
 
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Dman said:
Here in this video you can see during the State Visit of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1967, you will see the Duchesses of Gloucester & Kent and Princess Marina curtsey to The King:

KING FAISAL ARRIVES - British Pathé
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Ya I have seen that and even metioned it in one of the previous pages..I feel they are a sort of "perfect" curtsies of modern age..Bending knee exactly halfway with a straight back and neck....Not too shallow like Camilla and not too deep like Anne/Diana
I always rate the past Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester far more authentic reg. royal protocal..as they were groomed by the canny Queen Mary..abd they were a bridge between the Edwardian and New Elizabethan Age
 
EIIR said:
Expecting a woman in her sixties, with a family history of osteoporosis, to curtsey deeply in high heels is totally unrealistic. My mother's about to turn 60 and I know if she tried a low curtsey, there's no guarantee that she'd be able to get up again without assistance. She'd be more likely to end up on her rear end with her legs in the air.

It's the sentiment that counts with a curtsey, not the depth.
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When Elizabeth became Queen, Queen Mary, who was in her 80's and had arthritis, gave her a rather deep curtsy before telling her "Your skirt is too short for mourning."
 
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I could be mistaken, but wasn't one of the purposes of a curtsey to "lower" yourself in respect - i.e. make your head lower than the higher ranking royal's? If that is the case, then Diana's deep curtseys make sense, since she was so tall. Just wondering...
 
I think the royals curtseys and bows are up to their own personal unique taste and style. They are allowed to do it the way they like.
 
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