All the Rules on Bows and Curtsies for the British Royal Family
It would be an understatement to say that royal etiquette can, at times, be flummoxing.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of King Charles III to the throne, royal titles have been shuffled and changed amongst many members of the British royal family—which has understandably confused some in regards to who bows and curtsies to whom.
Now, as the royals prepare for the king's upcoming May 6 coronation, royals like Prince Harry, Prince William, and Princess Kate are expected to at last reunite. Read ahead for everything we know about the royal rules of bowing and curtsying.
Technically, there are no "obligatory" rules.
According to the royal family's official website, "there are no obligatory codes of behaviour" when meeting the sovereign or other royal family members. Still, the website notes that people still "wish to observe the traditional forms." For men, this means a neck bow (or bowing the head only), while women traditionally curtsy. Others can also show respect by simply shaking hands.
To greet the sovereign, the formal address is "Your Majesty."
To greet other members of the royal family, one would address them as "Your Royal Highness," subsequently followed by either "Sir" or "Ma'am."
Even royals bow and curtsy to the monarch.
At public engagements, it's not uncommon see royals greet each other with a bow or a curtsy. These greetings, however, often depend on a royal's rank.
All royals are expected to bow or curtsy to the sovereign and his wife, King Charles and Queen Camilla. Since he ascended to the throne, Prince William and Princess Kate have been seen formally greeting the monarch with a bow and curtsy on multiple occasions. Still, Charles and Camilla are not above greeting their family with a hug and a kiss on the cheek as well, as they did when they arrived at the Royal Carol: Together at Christmas concert last December.
Royals are also known to bow or curtsy to the monarch on their wedding day. Among those brides and grooms who participated in the nuptial tradition of bowing and curtsying to Queen Elizabeth while walking down the aisle are Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Kate, and Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.
The rules for bows and curtsies change when HRH titles are involved.
Having a His or Her Royal Highness title means you don't have to bow to another royal who also has an HRH title.
"The general rule of thumb to remember is that a Royal Highness does not curtsy to another Royal Highness," etiquette expert Myka Meier previously told People.
For example, Charles recently gave the Duke of Edinburgh title to his younger brother, Prince Edward (the title once belonged to their late father, Prince Philip), thus making Edward and his wife, Sophie, a duke and duchess. However, their higher-ranking titles won't change who they bow to or who bows to them, since their earlier titles of Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar already deemed them as Royal Highnesses.
"Therefore, while the newly titled Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will still have to curtsy to His Majesty King Charles and Her Majesty The Queen Consort, they will not have to curtsy any of the blood princes or princesses or those who have married one," Meier explained to People.
The rankings for royals-by-marriage, like Kate and Meghan, can be a little complicated.
According to Debrett's, a British guide to protocol and etiquette, Kate and Meghan only outrank blood members of the royal family when they are with their husbands.
"Protocol dictates that when the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex are not accompanied by their husbands, Princesses of Royal Blood, such as Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, rank above them. However, when the Duchesses are accompanied by their husbands, the roles are reversed with the duchesses outrank[ing] the princesses," reads Debrett's website.
While Harry and Meghan famously stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020, they still retained their HRH titles, though they do not actively use them.
Do royals bow to each other in private?
Private gatherings between the royal family may be much less formal than they are during public engagements—but a degree of formality may yet still persist.
During the early stages of her relationship to Harry, Meghan unexpectedly had a brief introduction to the queen. She later recalled her own surprise at being expected to curtsy to the monarch for the private meeting in their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
"We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch, and he was like, 'Oh, my grandmother is here! She's gonna be there after church.' We were in the car, driving and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy, right?' And I just thought it was a joke," the duchess said.
On their cultural differences, Harry said, "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American."
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