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Snigger

Ladies-in-waiting had to familiarise themselves with curtsying, and Campbell-Preston would be expected to curtsy on seeing the Queen Mother in the morning, at lunch and on saying goodbye or goodnight. There were, however, exceptions. Early in her waiting life, while awaiting the arrival of German royalty, she asked the Queen Mother if she should curtsy to them. She retorted: “Curtsy? Of course not. They’re Germans.”

13 thoughts on “Snigger”

  1. I don’t think the monarchy has a long future ahead of it (no flowers, Cromwell was right), but I will have a giggle if Charlie makes the following promise:

    Archbishop. Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?

    Queen. All this I promise to do.

  2. Yeah Steve, but it would be interesting if he turned the question around and asked it of the Archbishop.

    Archbishop “All this I promise to do”
    King ” Based on recent evidence, you’re a fvcking liar”

  3. BraveFart – I wonder what it means when supposedly solemn oaths turn into laughable lies, and people just pretend like that’s ok. But enough about my first wife.

  4. “I wonder what it means when supposedly solemn oaths turn into laughable lies, and people just pretend like that’s ok. But enough about my first wife.”

    Ha Ha – exactly my position too. Sadly, in my case that first marriage also cost me literally (and not in the Ash Sarkar sense) millions of pounds. But, hey ho, life’s all about experiences no?

  5. “to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? ”

    That’s a bit tricky: in the UK there are two different Protestant Reformed Religions established by law.

    “Charles the Third … do faithfully promise and swear that I shall inviolably maintain and preserve the Settlement of the True Protestant Religion as established by the laws of Scotland in prosecution of the Claim of Right and particularly an Act intituled an ‘Act for Securing the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government’ and by the Acts passed in both Kingdoms for the Union of the two Kingdoms, together with the Government, Worship, Discipline, Rights and Privileges of the Church of Scotland: so help me God.”

    Mind you, part of the protection of the Kirk built into the Acts of Union of 1707 was overturned by the Union Parliament as early as 1712; it took bloody ages to get it restored.

  6. “Pot, kettle?” Or perhaps she was aware that in the German tradition her marriage would have been morganatic because she was a commoner. So no Elizabeth II on the throne, no Charles III, etc. Frexample, WKPD:

    “Franz Ferdinand had become heir presumptive to the throne,… his uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph, informed him that he could not marry Sophie, a member of the House of Chotek, who could not become an empress consort. To be an eligible consort for any member of the Imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine, one needed to belong to one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. Although the Chotek family were noble since at least the 14th century and had been made counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1745, they were not of dynastic rank.

    Franz Ferdinand refused to renounce Sophie to marry equally and beget an heir to the throne.”

    Not that it mattered in the end as the Serbian terrorist assassinated both of them.

  7. BraveFart – Yarp. I think that’s why Dante’s Hell reserves the Ninth Circle for ex-wives.

    Dm – I always thought it was very practical of the Queen to worship with the Kirk when in Scotland. Far better to keep the natives on your side than to provoke them into tossing stools. Maybe King Charles can stop by one of their homosexual wedding ceremonies, or something, see how they’re getting on with that Gospel stuff.

  8. Pot, kettle?

    To be fair the Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was not German, she just married into a German family.

    Far better to keep the natives on your side than to provoke them into tossing stools.

    Particularly towards the fan.

  9. To be fair.. “German Royals” could have been anything, most of whom would rank well below the Queen-Mum to begin with in the ways of Nobbies.

    The Lady-in-Waiting would “Not Be Present” anyway, unless directly introduced to said royals.
    At which point she should have curtsey’d, depth of which would have been as complicated as correct japanese etiquette combined with current extended family tiffs/political favour to get Right.

    Could well be the Queen-Mum was aware of this, and her inexperience, and simply saved her from Embarassment by simply not mentioning/introducing her, and making sure she stayed properly Not Present.

  10. ‘“German Royals” could have been anything’

    No, the Almanac de Gotha is terribly strict about who is and isn’t royal.

    You might almost conclude that the Krauts are a race of manic obsessives.

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