2 minutes of readingPrincess Catherine will always master the curtsy, and she pulled off a particularly elegant one today, greeting Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Sultan of Oman, in Windsor, England.
Kate joined Prince William, King Charles III and Queen Camilla in welcoming the Middle Eastern monarch on his historic visit to the United Kingdom (his first official visit as sultan and the first visit by an Omani sultan to Britain in 44 years).
The British royal family held a ceremony on the royal dais at Datchet Road for the Sultan’s arrival, and as she greeted him, Kate gave a low, composed curtsy while maintaining her chic posture and bright smile. A real princess.
For the occasion, the Princess of Wales wore an emerald green coat dress by Alexander McQueen, which she layered over a black lace high-neck top and teamed with other green accessories, including a hat, mini bag and velvet Manolo Blahnik heels.
So when does Kate curtsy? The princess curtsies during official greetings to senior members of the royal family and visiting heads of state. She bows to Charles and Camilla during their first meeting of the day and makes a formal curtsy when welcoming visiting kings, queens, presidents or leaders.
She also sometimes curtsies to blood princes and princesses, such as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Indeed, even though William’s higher royal rank reflects on Kate when they are together, she is technically of a lower rank than the blood royals when William is not with her, requiring her to curtsy to them during their first meeting of the day.
When Kate one day becomes queen consort, she and William will occupy the highest ranks of the monarchy, so she will no longer have to curtsy to anyone, but instead, they will curtsy to her.
Discover the most iconic photographs of royal curtsies throughout history here.
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