Bowing and Curtseying


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The King knows Crown Prince Frederik all his life long. They have spend time together as toddler, as child, as teenager, as single adults and as married men with children...

I mean, before his Investiture the King received his "colleagues" for a cosy weekend at the mediaeval hunting lodge on the Crown Domain around Het Loo Palace. They have played card, enjoyed a good glass of wine in front of the open fire, I think it would have felt weird and "staged" when Frederik suddenly bows to Willem-Alexander.

It is not at all the use in the Netherlands to bow or to make a révérence, so Willem-Alexander probably even did not notice at all...

;)
 
Sorry, but that curtsey just looks way over the top and kind of silly. Before anyone gives me a history lesson on curtseying, I really don't care how things used to be done. In this day and age for anyone to curtsey like that is just preposterous. Mary looks as if she's about to beg for mercy for some great crime she's committed.
 
:previous: I like Mary, but I have to agree - her curtsey was a bit OTT here.

maria-olivia said:
King WA did not kiss the Danish Princesses Hands ?
Click to expand...

I've read that the Dutch Royal Family are quite informal about royal protocol (and are rather infamous for just being quite informal in general), and that in some situations, bowing and curtseying between the public and the royals is not compulsory. So, it's possible that, even though Mary and Marie are fellow royals, King WA wanted to keep this informality by not kissing their hands, which is (IMO) a very formal gesture.
 
I watched the video and there seemed to be several variations of things like bows and hand kissing and and kisses on the cheeks between men. No one protocol seemed to hold, except with the curtseys, and I watched with an eagle eye. :p
I saw no difference between all three princesses. They all seemed to dip the same way, and it was pretty fast. Very different from the impression the still photos convey, I think. :flowers:
 
maria-olivia said:
King WA did not kiss the Danish Princesses Hands ?
Click to expand...
I think that was kind of obsolete after the double cheek peck!

Lady Nimue said:
I watched the video and there seemed to be several variations of things like bows and hand kissing and and kisses on the cheeks between men. No one protocol seemed to hold, except with the curtseys, and I watched with an eagle eye. :p
I saw no difference between all three princesses. They all seemed to dip the same way, and it was pretty fast. Very different from the impression the still photos convey, I think. :flowers:
Click to expand...
I would have to agree, each of the Princesses dipped exactly the same way. PetticoatLane, as Lady Nimue said, those courtseys were actually quite fast.

I'll take Duc's take on why Frederik didn't courtsey, however that look on Margrethe's face as Mary curtsey's is definitely "isn't she doing well . . . and I taught her . . . (mental jumpy claps going on the whole time).
 
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In contrary to widespread belief, the révérence and the bow has not at all been scrapped from the Dutch Court. In the 1950's Queen Juliana informed that people really do not have to go through their knees for her and it was really not necessary to leave the salons backwards walking... She simply did not appreciate it.

Since then a révérence or a bow is no longer obligatory but completely optional. If people want to down their knees, okay, but a handshake will do nicely as well. No any problem.

Back then in the 1950's Queen Juliana thought that révérences, bows and backwards walking were unneccessary 'hindrances' in making a normal human contact, which is already difficult enough because people will always on their qui-vive and react differently when they are vis-à-vis with a royal in one room.
 
Belgian Royals
For the royal ladies un baiser et puis le baise-main. Sorry cannot translate exactly!
 
PetticoatLane said:
Sorry, but that curtsey just looks way over the top and kind of silly. Before anyone gives me a history lesson on curtseying, I really don't care how things used to be done. In this day and age for anyone to curtsey like that is just preposterous. Mary looks as if she's about to beg for mercy for some great crime she's committed.
Click to expand...

Curtsey was proper. Mary's mother-in-law was quite pleased and that is all that matters. I am sure she was instructed exactly what was expected and Mary followed in respect.
 
Lady Nimue said:
I watched the video and there seemed to be several variations of things like bows and hand kissing and and kisses on the cheeks between men. No one protocol seemed to hold, except with the curtseys, and I watched with an eagle eye. :p
I saw no difference between all three princesses. They all seemed to dip the same way, and it was pretty fast. Very different from the impression the still photos convey, I think. :flowers:
Click to expand...

Agree, still photos can convey entirely different impressions depending on which one is used. Once again a media spin.
 
Today on the second night:


Princess Elisabeth
- the King gave two kisses and a handkiss, no révérence by Princess Elisabeth
- the Queen gave two kisses, no révérence by Princess Elisabeth


Princess Benedikte
- the King gave two kisses and Princess Benedikte made a révérence
- the Queen gave two kisses and Princess Benedikte made a révérence


Prince Richard
- the King gave a handshake, no bow by Prince Richard
- the Queen gave two kisses and then a handkiss


Prince Joachim
- the King hugged him, then Prince Joachim gave a handshake and a bow
- the Queen gave two kisses and then Prince Joachim ended with a handkiss


Princess Marie
- the King gave two kisses and Princess Marie made a révérence
- the Queen gave two kisses and Princess Marie made a révérence


The Crown Prince
- the King and the Crown Prince hugged, no bow from the Crown Prince
- the Queen and the Crown Prince kissed each other, no bow from the Crown Prince


The Crown Princess
- the King and the Crown Princess kissed, no révérence from the Crown Princess
- the Queen and the Crown Princess kissed each other, no révérence from the Crown Princess


The Queen
- the King gave two kisses and a handkiss
- the Queen gave two kisses


The Prince Consort
- the King gave two kisses
- the Queen gave two kisses


See video on this page

:flowers:
 
:previous: Mary is seriously in shape. :p She could handle that curtsy without a hand, methinks. :flowers: A very pleasing video. Both Frederick and Mary animated in a wonderful way, special note of him.
 
Crown Princess Mary's curtsy's are similar to Diana's low curtsy's. As if one knee rests on the ground.
 
CP Mary curtsies very gracefully and naturally, which unfortunately is not the case for many of the new wave of non-aristocratic born Royal women.:sad:
 
Moonmaiden23 said:
CP Mary curtsies very gracefully and naturally, which unfortunately is not the case for many of the new wave of non-aristocratic born Royal women.:sad:
Click to expand...


Everyone do it differently. It really have nothing to do with your class. Not even the then, Princess Elizabeth, delivered very low curtsy's. Diana dipped low, but the royals today just bob up and down. I don't think The Queen is fond of low dips much.
 
Dman said:
Everyone do it differently. It really have nothing to do with your class. Not even the then, Princess Elizabeth, delivered very low curtsy's. Diana dipped low, but the royals today just bob up and down.
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Mary's curtsey looks much lower than it really is in photos. The videos show that she just bobs down nicely but quickly.
 
Dman said:
Everyone do it differently. It really have nothing to do with your class. Not even the then, Princess Elizabeth, delivered very low curtsy's. Diana dipped low, but the royals today just bob up and down. I don't think The Queen is fond of low dips much.
Click to expand...

So much mention of Diana's curtsy had me searching. :flowers: I found this video. At just beyond 1:30 Diana curtsies to the Emperor and Empress. It does not look particularly 'deep' to me, as in 'to the floor'. Mary's looked deeper to me. But I do not intend for this to be a situation of 'dueling curtsies'. :p

Princess Diana in Japan, 1995
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agFWF5r1SBs
TEXT: "Uploaded on Nov 10, 2010: She visited Japan in 1995."
 
Dman said:
Everyone do it differently. It really have nothing to do with your class. Not even the then, Princess Elizabeth, delivered very low curtsy's. Diana dipped low, but the royals today just bob up and down. I don't think The Queen is fond of low dips much.
Click to expand...

For me it's not so much about how low the dip is. It's about the ability to execute a fluid, graceful move with feet and knees positioned a certain way. It should not be too exaggerated, it should not be just a quick bend of the knee. The classic court curtsy also includes a respectful bow of the head.


Diana's curtsy to QEII at the conclusion of her wedding ceremony is a perfect example of a perfect curtsy imo.
 
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IloveCP said:
Here is Prince Nikolaos and Queen Anne-Marie, and Prince Albert bowing during Queen Juliana's funeral. It looks like Queen Silvia is doing the same thing here, but I'm not sure.
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They are not bowing to Queen Juliana, they are greeting the regimental standard of the guards outside the venue. This is standard practice in the Netherlands: a regimental standard bows down as a sign of greeting towards royals. The royals respond to this honour.

Picture:
The regimental standard of the Marines' Corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy is bowed down. The Queen and Princess Máxima respond this honour. The Prince of Orange -in military tenue- salutes.

Picture:
The regimental standard of the Marines' Corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy is bowed down. The King and Queen respond this honour. The King is in civil wear and therefore also bows (instead of saluting when in uniform).
 
Diana had lovely curtseys...that ballet training shows.



LaRae
 
To curtsey, a woman should briefly bend the knees with one foot forward. The move should create a distinct bobbing movement, with the upper body kept straight and should be repeated when the member of the Royal family leaves.

For men, greeting a Royal requires the same deference, but less movement, she said.

"A bow should be made by bending from the neck or shoulders but not the waist," Mrs Bryant said.
Click to expand...
Debretts advice on how to bow and curtsey correctly - Telegraph
 
Lady Nimue said:
So much mention of Diana's curtsy had me searching. :flowers: I found this video. At just beyond 1:30 Diana curtsies to the Emperor and Empress. It does not look particularly 'deep' to me, as in 'to the floor'. Mary's looked deeper to me. But I do not intend for this to be a situation of 'dueling curtsies'. :p

Princess Diana in Japan, 1995
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agFWF5r1SBs
TEXT: "Uploaded on Nov 10, 2010: She visited Japan in 1995."
Click to expand...


That video put a lump in my throat. Diana's curtsies were perfect, as was her interaction with the adorable little Japanese girl...very natural and no awkwardness whatsoever.

Gosh, I miss her:sad:!
 
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