Monday - May 02, 2011

do see doe or, who’s on first?

This reads like “Who’s on First” so pay attention. There might be a test.

Kate’s first lesson: Who must curtsey to whom

By CHRISTOPHER WILSON
Last updated at 5:10 AM on 2nd May 2011

The first thing the new Duchess of Cambridge will have noticed about her altered status is that the Palace policemen have started saluting her.

In the state rooms of Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon, female servants began to curtsey and grizzled retainers in their 100-year-old livery bowed their heads low.

One former courtier said: ‘At first she’ll be embarrassed by all this courtly attention from people she barely knows. But she’ll soon come to realise that it’s not what she wants, but what everybody else wants that matters when it comes to people showing their respect.’

As a brand new royal duchess, and wife of the second in line to the throne, Kate will need to bone up on who curtseys to whom.

In case nobody’s told her yet, here’s a rough guide to how things work.

If the Queen comes into the room, it’s simple enough – Kate should curtsey to her.

If Camilla appears and is with Charles, William’s wife should also curtsey to her.

But if Charles is absent but William is present, then Kate outranks Camilla, who should – in theory – curtsey to Kate. This is because William outranks Camilla in terms of the lineage, which means that effectively so does his wife while he is present.

If neither William nor Charles is there, then Kate curtseys to Camilla because – woman to woman – Camilla is her senior in the Firm.

In the case of Princess Anne – born a princess – and Princess Alexandra (the Queen’s cousin and granddaughter of George V), both these women have royal blood in their veins and therefore are more important than Kate – unless William happens to be around, in which case she’s more important than them. (Sophie Wessex, being married to a royal junior in rank to William, just has to curtsey to them all).

As for Prince Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, they out-rank Kate – but again not when William’s in the room.

Fortunately, Kate has had a long time to absorb what might politely be called the ‘ancient traditions’ of monarchy.

Those privy to the plans she and William are laying down for when they are King and Queen, believe that much of this ancient courtesy – well-meaning though it may be – will be swept away as the Cambridges seek to rejuvenate the monarchy.

courtesy curtsey

Posted by peiper     on 05/02/2011 at 03:19 AM   
Filed Under: • UK •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner