(CNN) — Blustery weather conditions couldn’t keep King Charles III and senior royals from heading to Westminster Abbey earlier this week for a service to mark Commonwealth Day and celebrate the 56 countries that make up the global organization.
In his address at the abbey, the King spoke on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future,” (more on that later in the newsletter) while the service reflected the diverse Commonwealth community.
Brianna Fruean, a young Samoan environmental advocate and a previous recipient of a Commonwealth Youth Award, read a reflection, while Muslim, Sikh and Jewish representatives also gave readings. There were several musical performances, including from the National Ballet of Rwanda, Cyprus’ all-female Amalgamation Choir and British saxophonist YolanDa Brown.
But it was a moment at the start of the festivities that sparked conversation among royal-watchers.
As the Windsors made small talk before the service, several eagle-eyed fans noticed that the Princess of Wales didn’t curtsy to her father-in-law.
It is fairly well known that royal protocol directs members of the Firm to bow or curtsy to the sovereign and their spouse in recognition of their roles as the most senior members of the family.
Kate’s sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex, touched upon the convention in the Netflix docu-series with Prince Harry, released back in November. Meghan admitted her surprise at finding out that they practise the formality behind palace walls as well as in public.
In episode 2, Meghan recalled starting “to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside” adding how “that was surprising to me.”
Recalling her first encounter with the Queen, Meghan said: “I didn’t know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch and (Harry’s) like, ‘oh my grandmother’s here, she’s going to be there after church,’ and I remember we’re in the car, driving up and he’s like ‘you know how to curtsy, right?’ And I just thought it was a joke.”
Harry added: “How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you will need to curtsy – especially to an American – that’s weird.”
While we’re briefly on a tangent, one common misconception is that royals have to bow or curtsy to more senior members of the family depending on rank. But that’s not actually the case. Other than to the monarch, the royals generally greet each other using the same guidance offered to the general public which states that there are “no obligatory codes of behaviour” but that “many people wish to observe the traditional forms.” Basically meaning it’s up to the individual who can choose to bow or curtsy if they would like to.
But getting back to Kate. The princess has often been praised over the years for her elegance while adhering to royal etiquette, so many were left confused about why she appeared to breach protocol at the Commonwealth event.
There could be a couple of reasons. One might be that she’s still adjusting to her father-in-law’s new role. Another, perhaps more likely, rationale may be that members of the royal family only need to greet the monarch formally upon their first meeting that day. While the King and Queen Consort arrived in a separate car to Prince William and Kate, it’s entirely possible they could have gathered ahead of the service and, as such, the Princess of Wales wouldn’t have been expected to curtsy again. Either way, the King appeared unperturbed and remained focused on the service – the first of his new reign.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Did the Princess of Wales break royal protocol?”
