How to Greet the Queen of England

Yes, she is royalty, but unless you're a citizen of Great Britain, don't curtsy or bow to the queen.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dresses
• Men's Suits
• Manicure Kits
• Airline Tickets
• Stationery
• Writing Pens

1. Address all correspondence to "The Private Secretary of Her Majesty the Queen," not the queen herself. Request that the correspondence be communicated to her royal person.

2. Contact the queen at the following address: Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA, England.

3. Greet the queen as "your majesty" initially. Use ma'am thereafter.

4. Accept the queen's offer of a handshake, and, of course, a bit of conversation if she's willing.

5. Don't show the queen your back, if you're following tradition, and leave the room only after the queen does. But keep in mind that times have changed and formalities have eased.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have gloves on, remove them.
• The queen mother is addressed as "your majesty," as well.
• As with all heads of state, be aware of high security surrounding the queen's appearances.

[optimisticjeff]

on 4/4/2009 Thank you so very much for these great tips on how to greet the queen of England someday if I get to London England I would love to sing for her Majesty I am a singer and I am always willing to sing to whoever would like to listen to me. thanks again for the great tips.

[sunnymurchison]

on 9/13/2008 Good morning. Thanks for the proper way to address
Queen Elizabeth because I want to write a letter of gratitude to her for being the person she has been since 1947! I belong to four Scottish clans and will gently share that fact with her. My granny was a born Scot, however raised in London. The Queen has Scottish DNA as well. Also, I think it fascinating that she is the head of the Church of England, the Anglican Church in England (Espiscopal in the USA), but while in Scotland (Balmoral Castle), the Queen is the head of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian in the USA).

God bless.

Sunny Murchison
Pasadena, CA

[cwecub]

on 7/24/2008 the only time i've ever seen the Queen is on a postage stamp, so when i finally met her i went over and licked the back of her head

[crogz]

on 7/27/2007 She's the Queen of the United Kingdom. England is just one of the countries she rules over. Calling her "the Queen of England" is insulting to citizens of other countries in the UK.

[MrsLizzy]

on 7/15/2007 I'm English; I don't bow or curtsey to anyone. Even when the proper modes of address are used, the royals don't always respond graciously. The Queen has snapped "Speak when you're spoken to!" to an excited woman who'd waited hours in the rain to meet her, who'd greeted her with "Pleased to meet you, Ma'am". Princess Anne told a woman who'd spent 3 hours making a gift for the Queen Mother, that it was "a ridiculous thing to do". Prince Edward once responded to "Is your mother well?" with "I hope you're not referring to Her Majesty the Queen!" The royals are quite capable of being stupidly rude and should be ashamed of themselves.