Home / HEIRS & SPARES / Sophie, Countess Of Wessex

Royal Oops! Duchess Sophie Curtsies to King Charles and Almost Loses Shoe in Awkward Moment

During the Royal Windsor Flower Show, Duchess Sophie curtsied King Charles so low, her footwear popped off her feet in an awkward moment.

From a graceful rise to maintaining eye contact and not bowing too much, mastering a royal curtsy is no piece of cake. Duchess Sophie of Edinburgh found that out the hard way during the recent Royal Windsor Flower Show on June 7. Though well-versed in royal protocol, she seemed to momentarily forget what she has done hundreds of times with the King and the late Queen Elizabeth. As she bowed low to greet King Charles, she had her Cinderella moment as her left foot popped right out of her wedge in an awkward yet adorable moment.

Sophie wore Penelope Chilvers Colina-style wedges, a royal favorite, but found herself briefly off balance. Fortunately, Charles came to her rescue, holding her firm with both hands to help her regain composure. As reported by Marie Claire, the Duchess recycled a classic blue floral Me+Em dress and a navy corduroy blazer by Frame for the occasion. Alongside the King, she joined gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh to tour the show and officially open the event at the York Club in Windsor Great Park. It marked her second outing in espadrille wedges this June, having worn a different pair by Penelope Chilvers last week.

After photos of Sophie's embarrassing curtsy faux pas made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), royal watchers couldn't wait to chime in. A fan quipped, "When you come out of your shoes -- it is a good curtsey." Another echoed, "She’s about to lose her shoe 😆." A netizen also remarked, "That’s quite a deep curtsy?? How does Sophie get that low??" As the comments poured in, a royal watcher joked, "Phew !!! I thought she was about to pull out a rug."

While Duchess Sophie had an awkward curtsy during the Royal Flower Show, she ensured she did not give the cameras another opportunity to ridicule her on Garter Day 2025. According to People magazine, on June 16, as the horse-drawn carriage of Charles and Queen Camilla arrived to take them back to the castle, Sophie perfectly coordinated her impressive curtsy with Kate Middleton's. The publication reports that all members of the royal family, including those with His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles, are expected to curtsy to the monarch and their spouse when greeting them for the first time. Even the future King, Prince William, has been spotted bowing his head to greet Charles and Camilla as a sign of respect. 

Etiquette expert Myka Meirs also told People magazine that "a Royal Highness does not curtsy to another Royal Highness." She explained, "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 to any of the blood Princes or Princesses or those who have married one." While there are no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting the monarch, traditionally, men make a neck bow (or bowing the head only), while women curtsy.