Does Prince Harry Need To Bow To William When He Becomes King?

The British royal family has always been big on following tradition and protocol. For instance, it is a must for everyone, including Prince William and Prince Harry to bow to their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II on formal public occasions.

This got some fans into thinking about what happens when Prince William eventually succeeds his father, Prince Charles, as the monarch. What royal family followers want to know is whether or not Harry will be required to bow to his older brother by the time the latter becomes the monarch.

This is actually a relatively easy question to answer for most fans. “Later on, when William becomes King William V, everyone other than Queen Catherine will be obliged to show the proper respect,” Rick Smith wrote on Quora.

There’s a recent precedent to this situation a few decades back. When the young Elizabeth became the monarch, everyone -- including her grandmother -- had to bow down to her.

“When HM Queen Elizabeth became Queen after the death of her father in 1952, the Queen mother was of course still alive as was Queen Mary of Teck (Elizabeth’s grandmother), they both had to bow down to the young Queen even though they were Queen consorts before their husbands died,” Reuben Braganza wrote on the Q&A site.

Another Quora user explained why there should be nothing awkward in these instances. “The important thing to keep in mind is people are bowing to the ‘office’ not the person … that is they are bowing to ‘the Queen’ or the ‘the King’ not Elizabeth or Charles, William or George. Just like military salutes, the salute is to the rank of (say) Major not to Fred Blank who is inside the uniform,” Quora user Kerry Apted explained.

At the moment, the royal brothers are informal with each other and Prince William doesn’t require Harry to bow to him. However, the younger royal is technically required to so since his older brother outranks him.

In fact, he is required to bow to other royals that outrank him as well, according to CheatSheet. These include Prince Philip since he is married to the Sovereign, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles as the spouse of a future monarch, Kate Middleton for the same reason as that of Camilla’s, and William’s three children -- George, Charlotte, and Louis.