The future queen was often noticed with this little habit.
This weekend the time has come: the Danish Queen Margrethe will abdicate the throne after 52 years. This means that from Sunday we will officially be dealing with King Frederik X and Queen Mary. Such a prestigious promotion naturally comes with some changes – but there is one special habit that the future queen will largely give up from Sunday.
Change of throne
It can hardly have escaped your attention that the Danes will have a new head of state as of next week. To the great surprise of friends and enemies, the Danish Queen Margrethe announced in her New Year’s speech that she would abdicate.
Although an abdication may not be surprising for us Dutch, the whole of Denmark was in turmoil: it is the first time in about 900 years that a monarch has abdicated there. With the change of throne, the only reigning queen of Europe also left – after years of Beatrix, Elizabeth, and Margrethe on the throne, they are now all gentlemen.
Queen Mary
Of course, as king, Frederick has his wife Mary standing next to him. Unlike her mother-in-law, she will not be queen regent, but queen consort – although the Danish court has already announced that she will simply bear the title of Queen.
Her promotion also means that she will move up in the royal hierarchy and will be on an equal footing with colleagues such as our own King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
Hierarchy
In addition to the endless changes at the Danish court that such a step up entails, it also means that Mary can wave goodbye to one notable custom:
That’s right: her ultra-deep nods to fellow higher-ranking royals. After all, she is just as regal herself, and so this classic sign of respect may be omitted from now on.
“According to royal etiquette, when greeting a royal it is a sign of respect to bow slightly,” explained Margaret Rhodes, niece and good friend of the late Queen Elizabeth. For men it can be a simple bend of the neck or head, but for ladies (even on stilettos!) they really have to bend their knees.
The nod is not mandatory, but rather one of the many frills that come with the theater of royalty. Those who don’t do it will certainly not be beheaded, but those who do play a bit of the royal game. And Mary? She regularly bends so deeply that no one can ever accuse the princess of any rudeness.
Uncomfortable
However, this tradition is not adhered to equally everywhere. For example, the RVD has no hard rules for people who greet our royal couple.
As can be seen in the photo above from 2015, it seems that our Máxima wants to help the Danish Crown Princess back up as quickly as possible – also nice and noble, of course.
And hey: a nod or not – the royals also maintain plenty of warm ties with their colleagues behind the scenes, so we also regularly see a greeting with a hearty air kiss or hug. In any case, it’s just a bit easier than kneeling in stilettos!
Source: The Daily Mail, Glamial archive | Image: NL Image
