When he becomes King do you think William will put a stop to bowing & curtsying?

[GertyFreely]

The RF seem to curtsy more to each other than members of the public curtsy to them. When William is king, do you think he'll end this tradition?

It's perfectly possible. It's the kind of nonsensical 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' thing a royal would do as a bit of particularly silly lip service to modernising an anachronism, while leaving his own extreme privilege untouched.

I hope so. He needs to start by telling Kate to cut it out. She looks bloody ridiculous.

There's no requirement for a member of the public to bow/curtsey when meeting a member of the Royal family if they don't wish to do so.

If you're talking about the members of the family doing it when greeting each other, OP, traditionally they only do so when meeting for the first time that day.

i don't think it should be formally ended or banned. I suspect it may change as younger generations grow up.

Many families have traditions based around courtesy. For example, in my family it is considered courteous to rise when one of the older generation enters the room, and greet them, either with a handshake or hug, depending on the relationship. Others have different traditions.
it's hardly surprising that this one has persisted in a family rooted in history and tradition.

I would never bow or courtesy to another human being . And for someone who says saluting or bowing as respect to the rank , monarchy or church , I don't respect any of them . Certainly no respect for the Office of the President if USA now that that buffon is in place.

I do think they'll end it. I can't see Catherine curtseying to George if and when he becomes King.
As for her doing so when she meets Charles, it's respectful and traditional. Her prerogative, and I don't think it's ridiculous that some traditions continue to exist and some people continue to uphold them.

I can't see Catherine curtseying to George if and when he becomes King.

She remains a Queen, although dowager, and of course would be older, so wouldn't be curtseying.
As I understand it the Queen Mother didn't curtsey to the late Queen, other than once making acknowledgement of her accession.

I don't think I've seen so many misspellings of the same word in so few comments. It's clearly so old-fashioned even auto-correct doesn't know what word we mean.

I'm hoping he will change it to a fist bump or a high five.

Do you have any custom for showing respect for someone who you do respect?

I'm just curious, or do you respect nobody.

I quite like visual signs of respect. A hand shake, a nod of the head (the half bow) for an office or person who it is generally held should be deserving of respect. But that could be my period drama obsession. I also quite like that you can withhold that visual sign as a protest. I like the subtlety.

So if all the royals make a bit of a spectacle of themselves bobbing up and down in one another's presence. But stand rigidly upright in the face of AMW its a visual cut in a very subtle, polite way which I think would hurt someone like AMW more than a jibe from the crowd.

I think she absolutely will. If she insists on the ridiculous bobbing to her FIL I expect she will do the same to her son. It does look very silly.

I'd be very surprised if HM or any of the HRHs give a flying fig whether members of the public bow or curtsey to them.
It certainly isn't compulsory.
If I met the monarch I'd do a quick head bow as a mark of respect to my country's head of state but I wouldn't do similar let alone curtsey to any other royals.
We are subjects in name only.

No he’ll be too busy protecting the brand. We’ll
see lots more PR about how much tax they pay and all the good they do, you know cutting ribbons, taking about things they have no qualifications in (eg child development) and people will
say how amazing they are for simply giving a speech.

We are subjects in name only.

Most of us are British citizens.

There have been very few people eligible to be subjects since 1983; it's a very specific category.

Types of British nationality: British subject

I'm thinking more that William could let it be known that no one should bow/curtsy, be they members of the public, staff or other royals.

I would never bow or courtesy to another human being .

What if you were in Japan for work and being introduced to someone? Bowing in their culture is a greeting custom just as shaking hands is for Europeans (do you shake hands with people?). If you were in court would you bow to a judge? If you were a performer would you bow to acknowledge audience applause?

I hope he does.

I’m not anti Royal. They do serve a purpose and I don’t envy them one jot. However, I would never curtsy or bow my head to them, I would speak politely and shake their hand like I do to anyone else in any walk of life. I don’t believe in the superiority of individuals and like to show respect to everyone equally.

My Indian neighbours, all bow to their elderly grandmother, I think it is quite sweet. And I liked that they venerate the elderly, rather than, thinking of her as an encumbrance.

Like another poster, we used to stand up for guests, and older family members when they entered the room.

So what sanction would you wish imposed?

It's already optional, as people have explained.

Trouble is it serves a purpose. It's a quick way for each person to acknowledge the others and is deeply ingrained in the family and countries psyche. I'd be very sad to see it go but I don't see it as obsequious just polite.

Tigger would look great with a forelock

Agree @Recklessismymiddlename.

I think customs that respect others, whether the person or the office, are good things, not to be automatically trashed without consideration.

Let's hope so.

Don't the Japanese bow to each other at business meetings? I'm sure I have read about that - it's a sign of deep respect.

The royal family are not as popular as they use to be.
I think its dying out tbh.

Kate is forever bobbing up and down when she sees Charles. She then follows it up with a kiss or a hug which seems bizarre

I love Kate but she does make me cringe with her bobbing at Charles, Camilla and random foreign monarchs.

And there was that awful time when a woman curtsied to Meghan who simultaneously went in for a hug and the poor woman faceplanted Meg's bosom!