Protocol primer: Curtsy or bow is up to you

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/06/2010 (5776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HALIFAX — Ladies, no hats after 6:30 p.m. Gentlemen, loosen the grip on that handshake.

The Queen is in Canada this week and next, and there are a few things one should know to avoid making a royal faux pas.

A sampling: Don’t ask the Queen personal questions and wait for her to strike up a conversation. Ditto for handshaking. Address her initially as “Your Majesty.” Afterwards, ma’am’s the word.

“They’re not rules that you have to really be super concerned about,” says Florence Sassine, chief of protocol for Nova Scotia, the first stop on a nine-day Canadian tour by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

“They are guidelines for you to feel comfortable.”

That may be so. But it hasn’t stopped the media from salivating over public snafus and skewering offenders, particularly celebrities and politicians.

Observers still recall when former Australian prime minister Paul Keating was branded the “Lizard of Oz” for touching the Queen’s back during a royal visit in 1992.

Former American president George W. Bush made international headlines in 2007 for a speech he gave during the Queen’s visit to the U.S. Bush stumbled over his words, nearly suggested the Queen was more than 200 years old and topped it off with a wink — reportedly prompting a brief but frosty glare from Her Majesty.

Not all gaffes have involved politicians.

In 2002, Canadian champion cyclist, Louis Garneau, blundered by putting his arm around the Queen while posing for a photo, though the BBC remarked she didn’t seem to mind.

Most recently, Michelle Obama put her arm around the Queen during a meeting in April 2009 at Buckingham Palace, though she mostly spared criticism.

The Queen had reportedly remarked on Obama’s height and placed her arm first around the first lady’s waist. The U.K.’s Daily Mail called it “an electrifying moment” that was “utterly astonishing.”

Sassine, who has worked in protocol for 25 years, says the No. 1 question her office has received ahead of the royal couple’s arrival is about curtsying and bowing.

“There is no offence — if you don’t feel comfortable — in not curtsying, as long as you’re welcoming and friendly,” she assures.

But for those who wish to do so, Sassine has a few tips:

— To curtsy to the Queen, for example, women should place the right foot behind the left heel, bend the knees slightly, keep eye contact and say “Your Majesty.”

— Men who bow to the Duke of Edinburgh, for example, should make a slight nod of the head and say “Your Royal Highness,” followed by “sir” for the remainder of the conversation.

It’s also possible the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh will extend their hand for a gentle touch during their stops in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

“I know people get excited and they want to be very effusive but it’s really better probably not to,” says Sassine.

— The Canadian Press

Royal visit begins today

— The Queen is set to arrive in Halifax today to begin a nine-day tour of Canada.

— The Queen’s 22nd official visit to Canada will also take her and Prince Philip to Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto and Waterloo, Ont.

— After attending Canada Day ceremonies in Ottawa, the Queen will spend Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg, honouring the new site of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

— She then returns to Ontario to attend Sunday’s running of the Queen’s Plate Stakes at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, plus a gala dinner hosted by Harper.

— On July 6, she will visit the headquarters of Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, in Waterloo.

— Canwest News Service