zarzuela
Nobility
- Joined
- May 21, 2005
- Messages
- 295
- Country
- Thailand
Vecchiolarry said:Hi,
Last year, when The Queen and Prince Philip visited Calgary, my then 87 year old mother was introduced to the Prince in a small 'walkabout'..
He held out his hand and my mother shook it and then said to him, "I want to curtsey to you".
He said it wasn't necessary but Mom said, "Hold on!" and taking his other hand, she managed a bit of a bob.
He smiled and said, "Very nice, madam".....
As he walked away, my mother said to those around her, "At least I didn't land on my ass!!"
Prince Philip (who must have heard this, as my mother is partly deaf and talks loud) turned around, smiled and gave her a thumbs up......
Larry
This is a very simplified explanation, but as a general rule one curtseys to members of princely, royal and imperial families (anyone with a style such as HH, HSH, HGDH, HRH, HIH, HI&RH, HM or HIM). For people who are members of such families, one curtseys to those who outrank you, so for instance, the hypothetical HH Princess Sophia would curtsey to HRH Princess Louise who would curtsey to HIM Empress Eleanor. The only caveat is that reigning royals outrank non-reigning, so HRH Princess Alexa of Greece ought to curtsey to HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, even though her HRH technically outranks his HSH. Similarly, HI&RH Archduchess Sophia von Habsburg's style technically outranks HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, but he is a reinging Grand Duke, so she would curtsey to him nonetheless. Also, Catholics curtsey to the Pope and I believe Cardinals, but you'd better check with someone about that, I could be mistaken. I hope that is a pretty clear explanation.bad_barbarella said:Who has to curtsey to who :S
magnik said:Just wonder: did Alexandra curtsey to Mary?
HRH Elizabeth said:HH Princess Alexandra, Countess of Fredreksbourg (I hope I spelled that right) most probably technically ought to curtsey to HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark; however, since Alexandra was a HRH for years, and a veteran of the royal family, such a formality is probably not observed.
BeatrixFan said:That's not quite true. You never curtseyed to "the local Lord or Lady" and domestic staff were never obliged to curtsey to their employers. That Upstairs Downstairs bobbing is the work of costume drama.
BeatrixFan said:Men doffed their hats to all ladies regardless of status.
BeatrixFan said:That's not quite true. You never curtseyed to "the local Lord or Lady" and domestic staff were never obliged to curtsey to their employers. That Upstairs Downstairs bobbing is the work of costume drama.
Maxima sometimes she curtsied (look on Henri M. posts on the top) and sometimes she just giving a kiss. It depend where and with who she is.Lord Sosnowitz said:I have seen just once Princess Maxima curtsied.
To King of Thailand.