Kate Middleton's 'Perfect' Coronation Curtsy Moment Caught on Camera

Kate Middleton's curtsy during the coronation service of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in May has gone viral on social media, after eagle-eyed fans spotted the moment and uploaded it to the video-sharing platform, TikTok.

Kate, Britain's new Princess of Wales, attended Charles' coronation alongside husband, Prince William and their three children, as well as members of the extended royal family and representatives from world nations.

The ceremony itself was based on the traditional order which was written down during the late Anglo-Saxon period and has been followed by all British monarchs since. The British monarchy is the last of the European royal houses to hold a coronation for their kings and queens. Others, such as Denmark, simply hold proclamation ceremonies.

Uploaded to TikTok by user, royalsintheworld, Kate's curtsy to Charles as he processed through Westminster Abbey with Queen Camilla after his crowning, has been viewed over 3.3 million times with the caption: "Perfect curtsy on coronation day."

Also included in the clip, which has received in excess of 94,000 likes and 500 comments, is Queen Camilla's coronation curtsy to her husband, believed to be the last she will make in public as now she is a monarch herself and is not required to show public displays of reverence to any other.

A curtsy is a traditional deferential gesture made by female members of the royal family and society to the king or queen of the day. Today, there is no requirement for members of the public to perform any gesture of reverence to the royals, but some elect to do so of their own accord.

For the royals, two curtsies are offered each day. One to the king or queen when first greeting them and then again when retiring for the day. In the case of the coronation, Kate's curtsy was made as a gesture of recognition of the crowning service and the oaths sworn by Charles and Camilla.

Royal curtsies have been pulled into public focus in the last year after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry discussed them in their Netflix and memoir projects.

Meghan's admission in the couple's six-part Netflix docuseries that she first thought being asked to curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II was a "joke" earned her criticism from some who claimed it was a sign of disrespect to traditional customs. The duchess showed on a number of occasions her reverential curtsy to the late queen, which Harry described in his memoir as "flawless."

Throughout her marriage, Kate has made a number of public curtsies for which she has been widely praised (as Meghan's have), and now this praise has extended to Kate's daughter, Princess Charlotte, 8.

During the coronation concert on May 7, 2023, at Windsor Castle, Charlotte performed a deep curtsy as her grandfather, the king, arrived and it was picked up on by social media fans.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.