Yes, it can't be easy to curtsy when you're standing in heels, and as you so aptly put it - bending into a pretzel! ROFL!
I suppose it's just a tradition, similar to when I was bowed to the other day, but more meaningful within Royal circles. Yes, it denotes hierarchy, which some find irritating or outdated, but these old customs affect Royals in other countries as well, and it's just a polite way of deferring to someone who carries more weight.
I so would have been beheaded for having been too sniff in the neck - and elsewhere - for that. maybe for someone like the queen mum for being a 1000 years old, but some young kid? I don't think so!
I get your point, and agree with you over the younger Royals. I certainly wouldn't curtsy to Kate! I was reading an online American magazine the other day, and they kept referring to her as Princess Kate. She's NOT a Princess, because she's not the daughter of a Prince, and another thing they keep getting wrong as well, is that the woman ISN'T pregnant again! Where do these rumours come from?!! Duh.
I wouldn't want to! There but for the grace, and all that. She was just "lucky" enough to've shared the same uni course as William, and shared his house. I'm not so sure as there wasn't method in the madness, but it resulted in what Kate's mum wanted! It might've been any girl that caught his eye, and we might see it again if Harry marries his American girlfriend.
If you're officially meeting Royalty, you're told what to do, when to speak and the rest of it. In an informal situation, you might still be expected to curtsy or to bow your head as a mark of respect. It's just a tradition that British people do, but it's a bit pompous in this day and age.
Amusingly, Kate herself has to curtsy to other Royals, such as princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, because they're bloodline and rank higher than herself. What happens if she becomes our Queen, I've no idea. : (
You know what? I used to think so as well, but now I'm not so sure. I've warmed to the woman, who keeps her head down and gets on with what her position demands of her.
I don't know if you know, but Charles and Camilla're bonded more than people think. Camilla’s great-grandmother was a mistress to King Edward VII, the great-great-grandfather of Prince Charles. Both of them share ancestors dating back to the 17th century, and BOTH of them're vaguely related to Princess Diana through the shared ancestry which goes back to Charles 2nd. Talk about "keeping it in the family", but this's probably why new blood was welcomed when William decided to marry a commoner. It also helps to water down the chances of family health issues returning, whereas the inbreeding of family members over the centuries produced one or two problems.
I loved reading that! You see, all the in-breeding happened not just here, but around Europe and elsewhere. The haemophilia which ran through our Royal family's well documented. Whether it's still within their circles's hard to say, since some years ago, Charles was asked if might give a blood sample, so that hereditary diseases could be checked, for historical purposes. The Palace declined the offer.
It's now considered that the madness of King George was due to him suffering from the hereditary condition of porphyria, another blood disease. His grand-daughter was later to become Queen Victoria. Two of her five daughters (Princess Alice and Princess Beatrice), passed the mutation to various royal houses across the continent, including the royal families of Spain, Germany and Russia. Victoria's son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany also suffered from the disease. Her grand-daughter, Countess Alice of Athlone, who died in 1981, was a carrier of the disease and had about 4 children, so ...... ?
