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?

Although you comment @GertyFreely above about Megan and the boob face plant is an excellent example of why you should have and follow a standard protocol. If you expect a curtsy you accept that, then the hug and no boob incident. If nobody knows what to do it gets awkward.

See single, double or even triple cheek kisses for greeting.

I'm stand off-ish so i would rather give a little bob or nod to my friends by way of greeting than a hug! But I guess that's a me thing.

If randoms on the internet like us know that there's no requirement to bow or curtsy, then I'm sure anyone who is going to meet a royal would know it too. Even now, many people don't bow or curtsy when meeting a royal. I don't think there's any need for some big announcement.

Anne, Sophie, Fergie, Sarah Chatto, Catherine, Zara, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise etc. have all been filmed curtsying to KC3. And yet Catherine has been singled out in comments from the usual suspects.

How unsurprising...and interestingly timed to the announcement that the Princess of Wales is off to Italy later this month.

Catherine is at an official engagement today . The chap who met her as she left her car didn’t bow and she didn’t look the slightest bit put out . They shook hands and started chatting.

There's far more footage of Kate and Charles together than there is of any of the others so of course her bobbing is far more noticeable. It's daft for any of them to do it, you just don't see the others as often. It isn't some kind of Kate hating conspiracy.

The royals are becoming less and less formal and austere. I suspect the tradition of bowing will gradually diminish, except on very formal events and then only to the Sovereign.

Those aren't the quite same, though: the bowing is mutual in Japan; actors bow to show thanks... perhaps that poster meant that they wouldn't bow just to grovel and show deference to someone who hadn't done anything to deserve it.

I recall a poster some years ago writing about how they'd met Prince Edward, who told her to "Just call me Sir". She wisely declined!

Their current household do not courtesy to them. William has already spoken about abolishing it when he is King. This is alongside other relaxing of dress code for Royal Staff. The view is to always remember that this is the children’s home more than a Royal Office.

When Andrew was first introduced to the Admiral in Charge of the fleet in which he was serving,he is reported to have said “you can call me Andy” The Admiral replied “and you can call me Sir”

It's ok, you don't need to be so vehement about it - joining the military, Church or monarchy is optional, so you'll never have to partake.

When Andrew was first introduced to the Admiral in Charge of the fleet in which he was serving,he is reported to have said “you can call me Andy” The Admiral replied “and you can call me Sir”

I can well believe it. Pictures of William and Harry in the military show them with the name badges "William Wales" and "Harry Wales".
Similar pictures of AMW show his name badge as "HRH Prince Andrew" 🤮

When H and M were going to ( I think) Invictus , they said to call them Sir and Ma’am. Can’t remember who related that story but someone else might ?

You bow all the time in Japan, the only question is how low. I've been in a car with all occupants bowing profusely in thanks to the driver who had reversed to give way to us.

Other reports are available

https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/a-circus-exworking-royals-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-insisted-american-staff-members-call-them-sir-and-maam/news-story/ca23dec789f412997737411bf73543dd?amp&nk=c0ce823e7f99be4038d5bc74652d4087-1778074812

Michael McIntyre did a very funny routine at the Royal Variety Performance once about William and Catherine having trumpeters playing a fanfare every time they left or entered a room-they’d just managed to put a sleeping baby in hi cot and were creeping out-and there went the fanfare….

I mentioned Kate but I also mentioned all of them
I think you are trying to find an agenda that isn't there

I get the impression that none of them are particularly bothered about it these days. There were all sorts of different greetings when Charles and Camilla were in the US recently. Of course, protocol is that heads of state and their spouses don't curtsy, but it's also protocol that US citizens and residents don't have to bow or curtsy to heads of state of any country, but some Americans did with Charles and Camilla (probably just the novelty of it for some).

And Charles seemed to love it when one of the children at the urban farm addressed him as "Mr. King Charles" while he was helping them feed chickens.

However, if they decide to stop it among themselves, they will have to figure out how that works when they are with the continental royals who do seem to enjoying doing quite a bit of it.

It’s much reduced anyway and not compulsory. I suspect these traditions will continue to be reduced over time. Charles is a lot more laid back about many things than his mother already

I've heard that Japanese and Koreans can often be seen bowing when speaking on the phone! It's such an important part of their culture that they do it automatically, even when the recipient of the gesture isn't there to see it.

I don’t think they’ll do away with it altogether.

i think at official events and at family events that are public like Easter and Christmas they’ll still publicly do the bowing and curtsying.

I think there’s already less of it. It is already made clear when you meet them that it’s optional and not required (my DDs special school had a royal visit quite recently).

This

When you’ve been brought up in a particular tradition and your whole life and lifestyle depends on that tradition, you are unlikely to start dismantling it IMO.

The Royals have only ever made changes if there is clear public call for it and it’s going to damage the whole institution not to change.

I think she will. QEQM and Queen Mary both curtseyed to Queen Elizabeth when it would have been expected publicly.

A lot of the time historically when there was no public curtsy it’s because the parties have already seen each other, as they only curtsy/bow on the first time they see each other that day.

Plus if they dismantle all of the traditions and peculiarities that make them seem different then they become more and more just a random rich family. And the more that happens the more risk (for them) that people start questioning funding said rich family.

I also think the fact it’s done so much in other royal families will impact it.

At the Swedish King’s birthday bash his teenage granddaughter had very clearly been well educated on the royals that were attending and knew exactly who she was expected to bob for.

the British royals won’t make themselves look less royal than other royal families

I think William is every bit as pompous and immersed in his own privilege as the rest of them. So no. I don't expect this or any other sweeping changes.

Yup.

Wills & Kate are already basically your standard public school trust fund kids doing supposed “work” that involves a title but very little actual graft.