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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Jennifer Newton

One royal woman no longer has to perform curtsey to anyone - and it's not Kate Middleton

The Coronation of King Charles will see him officially crowned as monarch in a historical display of pomp and pageantry.

The eagerly anticipated event will mark a period of vast change for the royals following the death of the late Queen and Charles' accession.

Already there have been new roles and titles allocated for certain family members with Prince William and Kate becoming 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.

The royals together on Christmas Day in 2017 (PA)

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.

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.

Now Camilla is Queen Consort, she no longer has to curtsey (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

Meghan Markle performing a curtsey in 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)
Kate curtsies to the late Queen (WireImage)

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 subsequently "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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