Slimmed Down Royal Etiquette…

It would go along with a slimmed down Monarchy, when in 1998 the Queen mulled fewer perks and fewer bows for fewer royal highnesses…

As for curtsying and bowing, the Queen is believed to be much more relaxed about etiquette than her sister, Princess Margaret. Even Margaret’s close friends must usually call her Ma’am, and have said that any companion who crosses the line of familiarity risks an icy stare.

LONDON — No more free plane trips and limousine rides for minor royals. No need—phew —to bow or curtsey every time a Prince or Princess appears. And fewer Royal Highnesses all around. Queen Elizabeth II is reportedly considering these and other changes as the royal family tries to become a modern Monarchy — one that will survive far into the future. 

The Sun newspaper, trumpeting the dawn of the people’s Monarchy, reported Saturday that the Queen was considering reducing the number of Royal Highnesses to the Monarch's immediate family. She is also reportedly thinking about barring minor royals from using royal planes and cars and of phasing out cheap “grace and favor” housing for relatives. 

The Sun also said the Queen had decreed an end to curtsying and bowing, although this has been royal policy for some time. “These reforms are very much a further indication that the Queen is taking seriously what she said just before Diana’s funeral ... being in touch, moving with the times,” said Ben Pimlott, author of a biography of the Queen and a professor of politics and contemporary history at the University of London. 

According to The Sun, the title HRH — “His or Her Royal Highness” — would be limited to the Monarch’s immediate family and children of the heir. That means Prince Charles’ two sons would keep the title, but the two daughters of Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson would not. Princess Diana and Sarah, the Duchess of York, both were stripped of the “Royal Highness” honor when they were divorced. 

Minor royals who could lose car and plane privileges include Andrew’s daughters and the Queen's first cousins, such as Prince Michael of Kent. The Sun said the proposals were outlined in a palace document seen and approved by Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office. Blair’s office said that any such changes were entirely a matter for the Queen and would not need the government’s approval. 

A spokeswoman at Buckingham Palace, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that no decisions had been made. “Of course, there have been a number of issues under discussion, but nothing is confirmed,” she said. Britain’s corps of royal watchers gave the move their blessings. 

“It shows the Queen is responsive to public opinion”, said Lord St. John of Fawsley, an expert on the Monarchy and constitution. “It is a big step forward and absolutely necessary,” said Harold Brooks-Baker of Burke’s Peerage, a guide to British aristocracy. “It will be a leaner and meaner royal family in leaner and meaner times,” said David Starkey, a history lecturer at the London School of Economics. 

A Labor Party lawmaker, Alan Williams, was a lonely voice of dissent. “Frankly, curtsying and the use of titles is all tinkering at the edges,” he said. “I’m glad they're doing it but at the end of the day, they seem to be doing anything but address the problem that the public are fed up with the outrageous wastefulness of the wider royal family and the royal household. If they dont address that, they are going to keep facing criticism.” 

The queen has already taken more dramatic steps to allay her critics. In 1992, the traumatic year that Charles and Diana separated and fire damaged Windsor Castle, she announced that she would start paying taxes. To fund repairs to the castle, she opened Buckingham Palace to paying tourists for the first time. 

As for curtsying and bowing, the Queen is believed to be much more relaxed about etiquette than her sister, Princess Margaret. Even Margaret’s close friends must usually call her Ma’am, and have said that any companion who crosses the line of familiarity risks an icy stare. Some newspapers made a fuss when Spice Girl Geri Halliwell failed to curtsy to the Queen at a concert in December. A month earlier, the Prime Minister’s wife, Cherie Blair, ruffled traditionalists by turning up at Balmoral Castle in pants, and reportedly failed to dip the knee. Buckingham Palace said that was “media-generated nonsense.” 

“There is no sort of etiquette or rules of protocol on how to dress or how to behave with members of the royal family except to be yourself, and hopefully to be polite”, palace spokeswoman Penny Russell-Smith said, in response to the stories about Mrs. Blair. Pimlott said some royal courtiers would be happy to do less bowing. He told BBC radio that one palace functionary confided that he had physical difficulty bowing to the Duchess of York. “There was an element of absurdity about the situation.” — By Robert Barr, Associated Press Writer, March 8, 1998

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