Page 8 | to ask should people still be bowing/curtseying to royalty

bringincrazyback · 2021-08-17T15:32:56+00:00

...in this day and age? And if so, why? (Usual disclaimers apply: long-standing member, not a journo, no Daily Fail affiliations. Question inspired by something that's come up in a book I'm reading; I'm curious to know what others think. Personally I think it's an obsequious practice that should have died out decades ago.)

Trezo · 21/08/2021 20:22

EXCLUSIVE The Queen has “let it be known” she wants Prince Andrew to keep his role as
@GrenadierGds
colonel, despite senior defence chiefs agreeing “he should go”. Military sources say the situation is “unsatisfactory” and “very difficult”
@thesundaytimes

The Queen has “let it be known” that she wants the Duke of York to remain as colonel of the Grenadier Guards, despite little prospect of him returning to public duties.
thetimes.co.uk

This is absurd, clearly his position is untenable. But with the royals nepotism trumps everything.

SpindleWhorl · 21/08/2021 21:26

Bloody hell, @Trezo. What a dick move.

Queen will let Prince Andrew keep senior Guards role

Military concerned that duke’s continued presence after his withdrawal from public life over Epstein accusations is an embarrassment to armed forces

By Roya Nikkhah, Royal Editor

Saturday August 21 2021, 6.00pm, The Sunday Times

The Queen has “let it be known” that she wants the Duke of York to remain as colonel of the Grenadier Guards, despite little prospect of him returning to public duties.

In a significant intervention signalling her support for Prince Andrew, who is facing allegations of sexual assault which he denies, the monarch is understood to have conveyed her wish that her son keeps the honorary role he took over from the Duke of Edinburgh.

Well fuck the pair of them, then.

Viviennemary · 21/08/2021 21:30

Just read this. Its unbelievable. The whole lot of them should be sent packing. The very thought we should look up to folk like that.

stonebrambleboy · 21/08/2021 21:36

I've never liked the Queen. A very misjudged decision.

SpindleWhorl · 21/08/2021 21:36

@Viviennemary

Just read this. Its unbelievable. The whole lot of them should be sent packing. The very thought we should look up to folk like that.

I used to kind of have a soft spot for HMQ. It was a socialisation and nostalgia thing.

Gone.

Vanished.

Hideous family. And to embarrass the armed forces like that. How bloody dare they.

Samcro · 21/08/2021 21:43

Id like to think i wouldn't bow or curtsey
I would definitely not for the youger royals
Didn't theresa may curtsey to william.. bizarre

RoseRedRoseBlue · 21/08/2021 21:44

@BalloonSlayer

Blimey that first one of Princess Anne she looks like she is pleading for some bread to feed her starving babe or something

This is brilliant 👏👏

Trezo · 21/08/2021 22:06

Bloody hell, @Trezo. What a dick move. Yes SpindleWhorl I agree it is.

Republic wants to abolish the monarchy crowdfunding for Billboards across the country. 12 billboards are already up 15 more planned and more on the way with different designs. Its about time in my opinion, would spark a much needed debate.

SpindleWhorl · 21/08/2021 22:10

I know Elizabeth is old by anyone's reckoning but she's also Head of State, and she either shows a sense of decent judgement and a sense of loyalty to 'her' armed forces and the people of the UK - or she abdicates.

Mindyourbusiness22 · 21/08/2021 22:15

I expect people to curtesy to me.

SpindleWhorl · 21/08/2021 22:15

I'd fall over.

memberofthewedding · 21/08/2021 22:17

As some posters have said, you are paying tribute to the "office" rather than the individual. Just as when you salute a higher rank in the military.

Men do a little nod from the head. Women do what is called a "bob" curtsy. Step back with the right leg and sink down about 6-8 inches, no more. Keep your back straight and your head up.

I doubt that I could do it at my age with a dodgy leg. However the queen would not mind someone elderly or infirm not being able to do it. Americans do not curtsy or bow because they would not do this to their president.

Etiquette dictates that you dont pay a greater level of respect to a foreign head of state than you would do to your own.

Trezo · 21/08/2021 22:19

@SpindleWhorl

I know Elizabeth is old by anyone's reckoning but she's also Head of State, and she either shows a sense of decent judgement and a sense of loyalty to 'her' armed forces and the people of the UK - or she abdicates.

Well Said

MauveMagnolia · 21/08/2021 22:19

I regularly meet royalty and don’t curtesy
I declined an invitation to a royal wedding stating that I believed in the abolition of the monarchy

Meraas · 21/08/2021 22:20

YANBU. I’m quite religious and hate the thought of bowing to any mere human.

MauveMagnolia · 21/08/2021 22:22

And Andrew is pretty great as royals go. Went above and beyond to support our charity giving loads of time

I have met most of them and he is the best

Comedycook · 21/08/2021 22:24

I'd curtsey to the queen but probably not to the rest

BeckyWithTheAverageHair · 21/08/2021 22:25

@Samcro

Id like to think i wouldn't bow or curtsey I would definitely not for the youger royals Didn't theresa may curtsey to william.. bizarre

Yes she did and it really made me cringe. I was hardly a fan of hers but she got where she was on her own efforts. Why was she curtsying to a man who was only where he was through an accident of birth and hadn't achieved half as much?

JacquelineCarlyle · 21/08/2021 22:26

I'm a fan of the Royal Family but think curtsying is outdated and should be stopped. I do think that a small nod of the head is appropriate.

Trezo · 21/08/2021 22:31

The idea that we normalise our head of state awarding military ranks and promotions to her children is absurd and obscene. Charles has previously been promoted in all our services as birthday presents from his mum. This has to stop.

phishy · 21/08/2021 22:37

@MauveMagnolia

And Andrew is pretty great as royals go. Went above and beyond to support our charity giving loads of time

I have met most of them and he is the best

Please don’t make me puke 🤮

It all sounds a bit fantasist.

Changechangychange · 21/08/2021 22:41

@Trezo

The idea that we normalise our head of state awarding military ranks and promotions to her children is absurd and obscene. Charles has previously been promoted in all our services as birthday presents from his mum. This has to stop.

Agree - it might have made sense in 15th C when nobles were expected to raise their own armies in support of the king. Or in the 19th C when officers paid for their commissions anyway.

But in a modern, professional army, it is crackers. Akin to her making him a dentist on his 40th birthday, or a high court judge. These ranks either mean something and involve actual duties, in which case they need to go to an experienced working member of the armed forces. Or they are the equivalent of Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III (who is a penguin), in which case call him something like “Regimental Royal Mascot” so there is no confusion.

memberofthewedding · 21/08/2021 22:44

Its not uncommon in the UK for people in professional life to attend events where royalty are present.

Back in the 1960s Princess Anne opened a new wing of the building where I worked. We were all given there complicated instructions about how to address her and how to bow or curtsy.

Years later (1990s) when I was an academic Princess Diana visited my university. None of the women did a curtsy. We just shook hands and nodded. I dont think Diana cared a stuff - or Anne for that matter.

Times change.

MauveMagnolia · 21/08/2021 22:47

Please don’t make me puke 🤮It all sounds a bit fantasist

What projects have you worked with him on?
How many times have you met him?

I have met him many times and he has always been great. The younger royals very flaky

AllHailTheGreatGoddess · 21/08/2021 22:53

No chance. And I don't respect hereditary office either.