Sophie’s New Title Doesn’t Mean She Won’t Have to Curtsy Meghan Markle Now
On their wedding day, Prince Edward and his bride Sophie became the Earl and Countess of Wessex. It was always thought that one day the prince would take over his late father Prince Philip‘s title. And that happened on his 59th birthday when King Charles conferred his brother and sister-in-law as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Now there is a claim that Sophie is especially happy with the title because it means that she no longer has to curtsy to Meghan Markle who previously outranked her. But is that accurate? Here’s what we know about the protocol regarding who curtsies to whom.
Prince Edward and Sophie promoted with new titles
On March 10, it was announced that King Charles made Edward the new Duke of Edinburgh and thus Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
A statement from Buckingham Palace read: “His Majesty the king has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.
“The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
Edward’s former title the Earl of Wessex now passes to the couple’s son, James.
Claim that Sophie is ‘relieved’ she no longer has to curtsy to Meghan
After receiving her new title, the Daily Mail reported that Sophie was relieved because her promotion to duchess meant that she no longer had to curtsy to Meghan because she and the Duchess of Sussex are now the same rank.
According to the outlet, Sophie had been “duty-bound to defer to Prince Harry’s wife who, as a duchess, was of a higher rank.” A source said that following her title upgrade from countess, the Duchess of Edinburgh was “relieved [that] she no longer has to curtsy to someone in the family who has not only left royal duties but has spent the past three years criticizing the institution that Sophie works so hard to support.”
Royal rules for curtsying
Social media lit up with confusion as many questioned the legitimacy of the claim because they didn’t know Sophie ever had to curtsy to Meghan in the first place. Well, turns out she didn’t.
Hello! noted: “The fact of the matter is Sophie has never had to curtsy to Meghan, nor had Edward ever bowed to Harry. Members of the royal family do not bow or curtsy to each other — it is an act reserved only for the king and queen.”
However, Councillor for Billericay East Andrew Schrader, tweeted if you going by “strict order of precedence” as an indicator of the royal rules then “technically, they do all curtsy to one another. But I’m pretty sure the Duchess of Edinburgh would still have to curtsy to the Duchess of Sussex. That had nothing to do with the former being a countess.”
But as Express reported, several royal watchers and experts argued that Schrader’s information is incorrect because the order of precedence does not impact the etiquette of bowing and curtsying.
