Comments on: How to Greet the Queen of England

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.

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

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

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.

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.

on 5/6/2007 Arguing over whether she is the Queen of England or the UK is pointless and irrelevant.

The meaning is still the same.

on 5/6/2007 Americans do not need to and should never bow to the Queen of England - You are not a subject. In fact, the Queens official website clearly states that hand shakes are sufficient when meeting her.

Any customary rules for foreigners who greet the Queen, will be clearly explained to you prior to meeting the Queen.

on 3/23/2007 I'd like to reiterate what some other posters have said regarding bowing. Bowing to the Queen is for SUBJECTS only. As an American, I need not - and SHOULD not bow. Obviously politeness and general good will requires Americans to treat the Queen with proper respect, but as others have noted, I can take you to graveyards full of people who died so that Americans would never have to bow to a British monarch - in this country or anywhere else, including the UK.

And if that's not good enough for you, consider this: The queen herself doesn't want or expect Americans to bow to her. I saw an interview with Carol Channning once, for example, who had the chance to meet the queen once - in England. She started to bow, and the queen herself said, "Oh, you don't need to bow - you're an American!"

on 2/17/2007 The way I understood it was, as an American, if I were to visit England and by some great fortune had the honor of meeting the Queen I should bow. However, should I meet her on American soil I should not bow, but show respect as i would any other head of state in the US. This, I have been told, is due to the fact that our ancestors fought and died for the right NOT to bow. My military experience tells me to respect the traditions of the host country you are in.

on 9/5/2006 There hasn't been a Queen of England since Queen Anne in 1707, when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist. England hasn't had a national government nor leader ever since.

on 8/29/2006 England does not have its own queen. The UK does however.

on 8/8/2006 I am a Canadian. When I was 17, my jazz band was granted the opportunity to perform for, and meet Princess Anne when she was in town in support of the Pan-Am Games.

Though I cannot vouch for whether or not this is standard procedure, prior to meeting the Princess a member of her official staff spoke with us about proper ways to interact with royalty.

He informed us that we were to stand straight and keep our heads slightly bowed, with our hands clasped in front of us.

We were not to speak to the Princess until she had spoken to us first, or to offer a handshake unless she did first.

We were not to initiate conversation with the Princess. If she asked us a question we may respond as we wished (with proper titles and such), but we were not to initiate it ourselves.

Again, this is just one royal experience.

on 7/4/2006 She is the Queen of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

"The Queen is Head of State in the United Kingdom. Her official title in the UK is "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".

As a constitutional monarch, The Queen does not 'rule' the country, but fulfills important ceremonial and formal roles with respect to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the devolved assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Queen is also Fount of Justice, from whom justice in the United Kingdom derives, and has important relationships with the Armed Forces and the established Churches of England and Scotland.

In addition to her role in the United Kingdom, The Queen has a special role to play in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which are dependent territories of the English Crown."

on 3/12/2006 When I was 17, my jazz band was granted the opportunity to perform for and meet Princess Anne when she was in town in support of the Pan-Am Games. Though I cannot vouch for whether or not this is standard procedure, prior to meeting the Princess a member of her official staff spoke with us about proper ways to interact with royalty. He informed us that we were to stand straight and keep our heads slightly bowed, with our hands clasped in front of us. We were not to speak to the Princess until she had spoken to us first, or to offer a handshake unless she did so first. We were not to initiate conversation with the Princess. If she asked us a question, we could respond as we wished (with proper titles and such), but we were not to initiate it ourselves. Again, this is just one royal experience.

on 11/22/2005 The Queen is not the Queen of England. England ceased to be a kingdom in 1707. She is the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or Queen of the United Kingdom for short. But, she is the Queen of at least 15 other Commonwealth Realms, too. Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders are all required to bow or curtsy too.

Waving is fine if you are in a big crowd of spectators. She's not a monster - she's happy if everyone in the crowd is visibly happy to see her. She might even wave back - but in a uniquely royal way.