Princess Charlotte doesn’t have to bow to the Queen but Prince George does – here’s why

Royal children have a load of responsibilities.

They have to be on their best behaviour at all times, they have to represent their country but as children, and they also have to wear exclusively shorts and no pants. Clearly very busy, the lot of them. And from the ripe old age of five, royal children have to grow up and start doing something that all the other royals do too - bow to the Queen. A standard enough scenario, which means that Prince George will be bowing and curtsying to his grandmother with everybody else when they're out and about. But due to her young age, Princess Charlotte will be relieved of this duty for at least another year and a half or so. We'd say she's delighted, yeah. Historian Marlene Eilers Koenig told Hello! magazine that there are a good few misconceptions around what the royal children are and aren't expected to do as such young ages. And one of those misconceptions is the whole question around curtsying. She said:

"Certainly by age five. The only person they will be curtsy or bow to is the sovereign. "A royal highness does not curtsy to another royal highness. Yes, there are articles that state this, but it is not true."

So by that logic, the royal children won't be bowing to anybody else other than the Queen because it's just not necessary. According to Koenig, bowing has nothing to do with how royal you are, but is more just a matter of etiquette. Essentially, it's good manners. She went on:

"You bow or curtsy the first time you see the sovereign and then again when you leave. "At Christmas at church, we saw the Cambridges and Prince Harry and Meghan curtsy and bow when the Queen arrived and left. Other royals including Charles did not because they had come from Sandringham and had already seen the Queen."

Makes sense.