Queen Elizabeth Took Curtsying 'Very Seriously' But One Royal Overdid It, Claims Author
Navigating royal etiquette can feel like tiptoeing through a field of social landmines, especially when it comes to the age-old tradition of curtsying or bowing. Queen Elizabeth II famously took this royal etiquette 'very seriously'. She reportedly expected everyone around her to observe the tradition to the letter, even from her sister, Princess Margaret, to her mother, the Queen Mother.
Royal biographer Craig Brown revealed, “Queen Elizabeth expected everyone, including her sister, her mother and her children, to greet her with a bow or a curtsy”, a mark of just how uncompromising she was when it came to upholding the order of precedence. For the late Queen, these gestures of respect weren’t optional relics; they were living symbols of monarchy and authority that she enforced at every opportunity, even when some in her circle felt the practice was “roughly a couple of centuries out of date.”
Among all royals, Princess Anne may have been the most thorough in her observance of these traditions, taking it too far. Brown noted that Anne’s sense of deference ran so deep that a friend of the Princess noticed "she would automatically stand up when taking a telephone call from her mother." Anne herself is considered a stickler for royal rules, both in public and private. For example, during joint royal engagements with Queen Camilla, Anne has insisted on following precedence, even politely declining when Camilla wished to precede her into a room, as a nod to her higher rank as Queen Consort, HELLO! reported.
Interestingly, before Camilla’s marriage to then-Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth issued a document that cited 'the precedence of the royal family to be observed at court,' as per Marie Claire. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth herself never curtsied to anyone; her role as sovereign placed her at the top of the hierarchy. There’s, however, one historic exception. Following Princess Diana’s death in 1997, Queen Elizabeth bowed her head in a gesture akin to a half-curtsy as her coffin passed by Buckingham Palace, the Daily Mail reported. She once also made the highly symbolic, ritualized dip to King Edward’s Chair at her coronation.
Beyond curtsying, royal etiquette comprises a labyrinth of rules; one is never meant to turn their back on the sovereign, and greetings are prescribed down to the last detail: 'Your Majesty' for the Queen, 'Your Royal Highness' for other senior royals. Protocol even extends to the youngest royals, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte practicing their bows and curtsies to the Queen from around age five, according to PEOPLE.
While this complex dance of reverence has defined royal engagements for centuries, times are changing. Royal commentators, including etiquette expert William Hanson, predict that once Prince William becomes King, public bows and curtsies may largely be dropped except for the most formal occasions, as the monarchy moves toward a more modern and less rigid public image.