Meghan Markle Must Curtsy to These Members of the Royal Family

Meghan Markle's life changed forever when she married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex.

However, despite her new royal title, there are still certain members of the royal family to whom she must curtsy.

This is because of the complex hierarchy of the royal family, which dictates that anyone who outranks Meghan must be greeted with a curtsy.

At the top of this hierarchy is, of course, the Queen, as well as Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

As Prince William is the future king, Meghan will also have to curtsy to him and his wife, Kate Middleton.

Things get a bit more complicated when it comes to blood princesses such as Princess Anne, Princess Alexandra, Princess Eugenie, and Princess Beatrice.

While Meghan is required to curtsy to them, she only has to do so when she isn't with Harry, as with him, she technically outranks them.

There are also some family members she'll only have to curtsy to if their husband or wife is in the room with them.

For example, Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward, won't get a curtsy from Meghan unless her husband is present.

Interestingly, Meghan doesn't have to curtsy to Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Phillips, who is a blood royal.

Zara will even be expected to curtsy to Meghan if Harry is present.

During her official outing in Wales with Prince Harry, Meghan received a curtsy from a woman who welcomed the couple outside Cardiff Castle.

However, before Meghan marries Prince Harry, it is not British protocol to curtsy to her, as she does not have an official royal title yet.

The complicated curtsying rules were drawn up by the Queen's private secretary for a document called “Precedence of the Royal Family to be observed at court” in 2005.

It was originally created to clarify Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's position in the hierarchy after her marriage to Prince Charles.

While these rules may seem confusing and even arbitrary, they are simply a sign of respect.

If someone curtsies to Meghan ahead of the wedding, they are clearly trying to show that the strict royal rules will have to be followed at all formal dinners and get-togethers.

As Meghan navigates her new role as a member of the royal family, she will undoubtedly become more familiar with these complex protocols.

For now, however, it seems that she will have to curtsy to quite a few members of the family on official occasions.