The royal family's website declares that there "are no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting the queen or a member of the royal family." However, several sources have confirmed that members of the royal family and their regal associates all bow or curtsy to one another in both public and private settings.

Royal historian Marlene Eilers Koenig shared that children born into the custom of curtsying and bowing start doing so at the mere age of five, explaining, "You bow or curtsy the first time you see the sovereign and then again when you leave." In 2005, a document was drafted by the queen's private secretary outlining the expectations that family members would curtsy and bow at certain times.

Originally intended to define Duchess Camilla's standing within the royal family and then passed on to Kate Middleton, it stated clearly that she was required, or at the very least expected, to curtsy to the "blood princess" upon encountering her at any given time, according to the Telegraph. However, they reported that there’s still a perceived hierarchy that keeps things varied and restricted to a sort of "ethical lineage."