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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Recent change means one royal no longer has to curtsy - but other still have to

The sad death of the Queen has seen a raft of changes for the Royal Family - especially when it comes to titles. Charles is now King, Camilla is Queen Consort and Prince William and Kate have been bestowed the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.

But it's not just titles within the family that have changed, there have also been tweaks to the traditions of bows and curtsies - and there is now one royal woman who is no longer required to carry out the gesture.

His status as monarch means all family members should bow or curtsy to King Charles - and with Camilla as his Queen Consort and known as Her Majesty, the likes of William, Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be expected to bow or curtsy to her too.

Prince William, Kate, Meghan and Prince Harry bow and curtsy on Christmas Day 2017 (PA)

This also means that Camilla is no longer required to curtsy to anyone in the Royal Family - although Hello! reports she may still carry out the gesture when greeting foreign monarchs.

Before the death of the late Queen, royals were often seen bowing or curtsying in public to her at events such as Christmas Day, Easter or Royal Ascot.

Both Kate and Meghan gave deep curtsies to the late Queen when greeting her on their respective wedding days in 2011 and 2018.

If royals don't perform the gesture, it was probably because they had seen the monarch earlier in the day and had been formally greeted in private.

Meanwhile, when it comes to members of the public meeting royals, the official Royal Family website points out that there are "no obligatory codes" when greeting a royal but that "many people wish to observe the traditional forms".

It advises that for men, this is a neck bow "from the head only" and for women it is a "small curtsy" - although the site points out other people "simply to shake hands in the usual way".

When greeting the King or Queen Consort, the correct formal address is "Your Majesty", and subsequntly "Sir" for the King or "Ma'am" pronounced so it rhymes with jam for the Queen.

The website adds: "For male members of the Royal Family the same rules apply, with the title used in the first instance being 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Sir'.

"For other female members of the Royal Family the first address is conventionally 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Ma'am'."

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