Royal kiss, hug or curtsy? The rules of royal greetings
Royal protocol
For the commoners of the world, there is a strict protocol of addressing the royal family. A bow, a curtsy, and certainly no touching involved. This cannot be said for royals between themselves. However, royal protocol still remains within hierarchies of the British royal family and other royals across the globe. How should one greet a family member within the royal households?
Duchess Camila changed everything![]()
A document (officially called Precedence of the Royal Family to Be Observed at Court) was drawn up by the Queen’s private secretary in 2005 to figure out where Duchess Camilla fit into the whole royal hierarchy after her marriage to Prince Charles. The precedence is important in the Royal family: who goes before who – or even who bows or curtsies to who.
Kate Middleton as Duchess of Cambridge to curtsy to royal blood
The Telegraph reported the document was updated after Kate Middleton joined the family. This time, it was to make it clear that Kate still had to curtsy to the “blood princesses”. So what are the rules within the royal family itself?
A curtsy for the ladies![]()
The curtsy – shortened from “courtesy,” is the bending of the knees that can be seen as courteous behaviour. It is standard to curtsy to the King or Queen – certainly for the common folk, but even within the royal family itself.
Kate extends a curtsy to King Charles
King Charles’ daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, dipped into a curtsy to greet the monarch, as seen at her Christmas carol concert in December. The royals follow the rules.
What is a curtsy, exactly?![]()
Zarife Hardy of Australian School of Etiquette, told Now To Love, that “The royal curtsy is one foot behind the other and the deep and the longer you stay down shows more respect.”
A deeper respect
To take the curtsy to the next level, the girl or woman bends the knees outward (rather than straight ahead), and sweeps one foot behind her. Is it likely the royal ladies themselves receive training in the art of the curtsy? Very.
A curtsy with a twist![]()
From a distance, the public curtsy and never touch! In the case of the family – or even close friends – the curtsy is usually accompanied by a handshake. Don’t be too confident though, it’s only if the royal extends their hand first.
Do royals keep with tradition behind closed doors?
Of course, royal life is all about pomp, circumstance and etiquette; but do the royals still curtsy at home? One source told Money-Coutts for the Telegraph, “What they do when there are no outsiders present I can’t tell, but I suspect they do [curtsy]. They all did with the Queen.”
Meghan had to curtsy![]()
Meghan Markle recalled meeting The Late Queen Elizabeth for the first time in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show, ‘Harry & Meghan.’ Meghan clearly found the whole experience confusing and was certainly surprised that people within the same family would curtsy to each other.
A weird concept, especially to an American
To curtsy to your family – is that a joke?![]()
