The Weird Reason Kate Middleton Has to Curtsy to Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice Whenever She’s Alone

There are a lot of rules and protocols within the royal family that may seem strange to other families. For instance, the royal family members have certain ways that they have to greet one another, even in private. Of course, everyone must bow or curtsy to the queen, despite the fact that she may be their mother or grandmother. But when you get deeper into the family, the curtsy rules get a bit muddled. For instance, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, must curtsy to her cousin-in-laws Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on certain occasions.

The royal family has to curtsy in private

You might think that the royals only do the curtsying and bowing in public but in her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex revealed that everyone curtsies to the queen, even in private.

Her first time meeting the queen occured when she was having lunch with Princess Eugenie and the queen happened to have a free moment.

“It turned out, the Queen was finishing a church service in Windsor and so she was going to be at the house,” Meghan told Oprah.

In order to prepare Meghan to meet the queen, Sarah, Duchess of York helped the former Suits actress with her curtsy.

“I thought genuinely that was what happens outside I thought that was part of the fanfare,” Meghan said of curtsying. “I didn’t think that was what happens inside. And I said, ‘But it’s you’re grandmother,’ and he said, ‘It’s the Queen.’”

Kate Middleton must curtsy to Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice

Though Kate has a higher ranking than Beatrice and Eugenie through her marriage to Prince William, she is not of royal blood. So, when she is with her husband, Eugenie and Beatrice curtsy to her, as she takes on her husband’s standing. The same is true for Princess Anne and Alexandra. However, when she is not with her husband, Kate must curtsy to all the princesses who received their titles through birth.

Does Meghan Markle have to curtsy to Kate Middleton?

Because Kate is married to William, who is second in line for the throne, she outranks Meghan, who is married to Harry, who is sixth in line for the throne. So, when the two meet each other, especially when their husbands are around, Meghan is supposed to curtsy to Kate, however the two rarely bother with the curtsying rules when around one another.

Kate and Meghan’s sort of lackadaisical approach to certain protocols when it comes to each other will change once William is King and Kate becomes Queen Consort. At that point, everyone besides her husband will have to bow to her.

Do the royals follow these rules?

As time has gone on, the royals have become less strict about who must curtsy or bow to who. Technically, Kate is even supposed to bow to her three children as they are higher ranking than she is, but she doesn’t. The only person who everyone curtsies and bows to at all times is the queen.