Picture this: You show up to your dad’s house for the holidays. You’re in a bad mood because traffic was awful, your stepmom has started referring to herself as “Queen” in public, and your toxic uncle who has been banned from the family was invited.
On top of all that, you’re in a feud with your brother, who (a) has more hair than you, (b) wrote a book about you, and (c) everyone likes better than you. In other words, you’re Prince William, and the last thing you want to do is bow to your dad now that he’s the 🙄 King 🙄 of 🙄 England 🙄, but…royal rules were not made to be broken!
In other words, what we’re trying to say here is that, yes…
Prince William Has to Bow to King Charles
Protocol dictates that literally everyone bows to King Charles upon greeting him, which we’ve maybe seen in action in the photo below. Honestly, though, this could be Prince William and Kate Middleton climbing stairs…while also bowing? Slightly unclear.
Either way, we went ahead and examined more evidence (read: trolled around social media), and it looks like sometimes rules slip. While Kate was seen doing a perfect curtsy to both King Charles and Queen Camilla during a recent Christmas concert, William was seen giving his father a simple double cheek kiss:
William Technically Has to Bow to Queen Camilla
Imagine having to bow to your stepmom, lol. Truly couldn’t be me, but that’s William’s current reality, and he’s not alone. Sources tell Page Six that everyone in the royal family is expected to bow to Camilla now that she’s Queen (well, Queen Consort, technically).
“The personal impact is likely the protocol changes that roll into action almost immediately,” an insider said shortly after Charles took the throne. “The family will now have to bow or curtsy to King Charles and Queen [Consort] Camilla.”
Meanwhile, Majesty managing editor Joe Little told the outlet, “It would be the protocol to bow to the new king and queen,” adding that “any time the royal family meets the new king and queen, the done thing would be to bow or curtsy to them.”
FYI, while Wills has been nothing but publicly respectful toward his stepmom, royal expert and author Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly back in February 2022 that Queen Elizabeth II’s decision to allow Camilla to use the Queen Consort title was “driving a wedge” in the royal family and “the boys [William and Harry] were completely blindsided.”
Can’t imagine bowing can be easy, but hey, they’re used to protocol at this point.
So, Does Will Have to Call His Dad “Your Majesty”?
Protocol dictates that upon greeting the King, one initially calls him “Your Majesty” before switching to a less formal “Sir” (in the Queen’s case, it was “Your Majesty” and then “Ma’am”). That said, these rules are mostly for public appearances, and William likely still calls his father “Pa” in private. Little confirmed as much to Page Six, saying, “The Queen and Prince Philip were Ma and Pa to their children; whatever William and Harry called Charles and Camilla yesterday, they will call them that today.”
Noted! Guess we’ll have to see if Prince William follows protocol and bows to his dad at the coronation on May 6….
Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
