Bowing low: From Mrs May to Max Wall.

An interesting article in the Guardian the other day (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/09/theresa-may-curtsey-royals-prince-william) by Gaby Hinsliff dealt with the rather dated custom of curtseying. She points out that there is probably no relaxed and normal way of doing it and observes that Theresa May manages to make unusually hard work of it. Her style seems to be a grovellingly low dip that makes you think she is either about to fall over or might have caught a heel in a grating. There have been some very unkind comparisons with Gollum from Lord of the Rings in the press but I won't dwell on those. Instead I'll just mention Max Wall: those who remember him will know what I mean instantly. Anyway, just in case you are curious, here is the pose that prompted Ms Hinsliff's piece and it happened during the recent WW1 commemorations in Amiens.

But, perhaps, the oddest thing isn’t that Mrs May perseveres with this most old-fashioned of traditions. It’s that the younger royals in particular (you know, the famously modern and inclusive younger royals, who are forever suggesting that they’re just like the rest of us, really, underneath) don’t politely put a stop to this form of forelock-tugging that has so obviously had its day. There really is something uncomfortably archaic about the sight of a woman in her 60s ritually abasing herself before a man half her age, who has done nothing to warrant such reverence besides being born into his current family; who may or may not prove to be a good king in the distant future, but whose achievements are so far mainly limited to having been a helicopter pilot and then having some children.Why on earth should elected power defer to inherited privilege in this way? Does William not find it as awkward and embarrassing as everyone else does? And if he does, why doesn’t he let it be known that his future subjects should cut it out?

Show common politeness and courtesy, of course, but is it really necessary to bow and scrape? It's not as if it is compulsory, as the palace’s own protocol guide for makes clear. It may be the traditional courtly greeting, but even the Queen will happily accept a handshake if that’s what people find comfortable. So why does Mrs May do it? Maybe it's because she feels the sort of reverence for the monarchy that is common among Tories of a certain generation. Or because she remembers the fuss about Cherie Blair refusing to do it? Or because she doesn't have the confidence not to?

There are lots of images of Mrs May bending the knee and it would be unkind to dwell on them. Oh, alright, a couple more for you.

And if you want an example of how a modern Head of Government meets the Head of State or her family, we need look no further than north of the border.



And for any youngsters who might be wondering, Max Wall was an extremely funny, in my opinion, music hall and early TV comedian. His alter ego was Professor Max Wallofsky.