Etiquette for leaving the King of England--walking backwards?

Factual Questions
1

In the movie from 2017 called “Churchill”, there is a scene where Winston Churchill is invited to Buckingham Palace for a private meeting with King George.
When the politician leaves, the two men walk towards the door of the room. At the door, Churchill turns around and walks backwards as he steps out the door. This is presumably a royal protocol, to respect the King by never turning your back on him.

My question is: is this still done today.?
It seems like a very old-fashioned custom, properly fitting for Victorian times, but awkward for today.
I wonder if Queen Elizabeth is treated this way, or perhaps was in her earliest days after ascending the throne. (When television didn’t exist, and there was a greater sense of formality and distance from celebrities.)

2

It’s not still done today, even on the most elaborately formal occasions, like the opening of Parliament.

Watch the Lord Chancellor in this video presenting a document to the Queen. He bows and half kneels, then walks down the steps with his back to her, bows again, and then walks off, again turning his back to her.

Here’s an entertaining account from the 18th century, of Oxford professors being introduced to King George III in 1786.

It’s by Fanny Burney, who was a lady in waiting to the Queen at the time.

On this occasion a courtier walked backwards down the steps, but the King realised that the professors would have a hard time doing it. Their antics were nonetheless amusing to Fanny Burney:

When the address was ended, the King took a paper from Lord Harcourt, and read his answer. The King reads admirably; with ease, feeling, and force, and without any hesitation. His voice is particularly full and fine. I was very much surprised by its effect. When he had done, he took off his hat, and bowed to the Chancellor and Professors, and delivered the answer to Lord Harcourt, who walking backwards descended the stairs, and presented it to the Vice-Chancellor. …

After this, the Vice-Chancellor and Professors begged for the honour of kissing the King’s hand. Lord Harcourt was again the backward messenger; and here followed a great mark of goodness in the King: he saw that nothing less than a thorough-bred old courtier, such as Lord Harcourt, could walk backwards down these steps, before himself, and in sight of so full a hall of spectators; and he therefore dispensed with being approached to his seat, and walked down himself into the area, where the Vice-Chancellor kissed his hand, and was imitated by every Professor and Doctor in the room.

Notwithstanding this considerate good-nature in his Majesty, the sight, at times, was very ridiculous. Some of the worthy collegiates, unused to such ceremonies, and unaccustomed to such a presence, the moment they bad kissed the King’s hand, turned their backs to him, and walked away as in any common room; others, attempting to do better, did still worse, by tottering and stumbling, and falling foul of those behind them; some, ashamed to kneel, took the King’s hand straight up to their mouths; others, equally off their guard, plumped down on both knees, and could hardly get up again; and many, in their confusion, fairly arose by pulling his Majesty’s hand to raise them.

As the King spoke to every one, upon Lord Harcourt’s presenting them, this ceremonial took up a good deal of time; but it was too new and diverting to appear long.

3
  1. No such thing as the King of England. Its the King of the United Kingdom.
  2. Different circumstance require different etiquette. I believe in the movie it’s at the weekly audience the PM has with monarch.
4

Here’s a bit I recall reading some years ago, but I can’t find a cite on-line now: It was likewise tradition that Nobel winners, upon receiving their award from the King of Sweden, walked backwards when departing from him rather than turning their backs on the king. This tradition, too, has been eliminated, and the laureates may now turn around and walk forward away from the king.

5

There’s a similar tradition that one must never sit in the presence of the king or queen, while said king or queen stands. Karen Pryor, former curator and head dolphin trainer at Sea Life Park (a marine park and dolphin show near Honolulu) tells an anecdote about the King of Sweden in her memoir Lads Before The Wind:

The King of Sweden came to visit Sea Life Park, and a staff person was escorting him around the park. At one point, the staffer sat on a bench, not being aware of the rule that one never sits before the king sits. The king reacted by immediately sitting down on the bench as well.

The kings of Sweden have had a reputation of NOT being too full of themselves.

6

The practice was largely abandoned in 2009. Inevitably, the Mail and the Mirror treated this as a health-and-safety-gone-mad scandal.

Backwards step for royal defence as centuries old tradition goes out of fashion | Daily Mail Online

Bowing and scraping to Queen is banned by health and safety - Mirror Online

7

(Probably from a Bennet Cerf book.) There’s an old story about a monarch of a petty kingdom who, full of himself, had a VERY low entranceway to the throne room. Anyone entering the throne room had to crawl in. The story goes that the British ambassador, seeing this, turned around and entered the throne room backwards giving the monarch a fine view of his trousered backside.

8

I heard a story once about a famous musician who was a bit full of himself, and an inveterate name-dropping celebrity-hunter, who invited a friend to one of his after-concert parties. Steering said friend towards a tall distinguished-looking man, he said “Your Majesty, may I present my friend Mr XYZ” and whispered to the friend “It’s the King of Sweden!”, at which the tall man said quietly “Excuse me… Norway”.

As far as the backwards-walking goes, I thought it was still common on very formal occasions, like being invested with an honour, or a formal “audience”, to take a step back once the business is over and give a nod or salute, and then it’s OK to turn round if necessary. On line-up introductions and walkabouts, none of that’s necessary.

9

Is the current Queen not also the Queen of England? I ask this because the head of state of Canada is described as the “Queen of Canada”.

10

No, there is no such title as “King/Queen of England”; there was until 1707, when the Kingdom of England was merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The relationship between England and Scotland (and the other parts of the UK) is a real union: They are one kingdom under one monarch. The relationship between the UK and Canada (and the other Commonwealh kingdoms) is that of a personal union: Legally separate kingdoms that “happen” to have the same person for a monarch.

11

That rule of etiquette is the reason why the Queen remains standing when she holds meetings of the Privy Council: It keeps meetings short because nobody can sit down. Of course, this is only practically feasible because Privy Council meetings are a mere formality, to enact pieces of secondary legislation that have already been drafted, agreed upon, and approved by the Cabinet departments.

12

Privy Council meetings are a mere formality

But the continued existence of the PC has a serious modern political function, since members are senior politicians of the major parties, and PC membership is used as a channel for occasional totally confidential discussion and briefing between government and opposition on ultra-sensitive subjects. You might see references to “Privy Council terms” - that means “secret till further notice”.

13

Someone finds the need to make this nitpick every time we have a discussion about the UK monarch and yet, no one is really confused who is being referred to.

14

I’ll remember this next time I discuss Joe Biden, the President of California. :grin:

15

You mean the King of the UK is king over all the UK but England? Of course he is the King of England, and of London and of Llanwrtyd Wells. But that’s not one of his titles.

Maybe we can stop seeing this this bit of pedantry every time?

16

Not like President of California: it’s like saying President of the South West.

17

Dunno if it was in my lifetime, but more than 50 years ago.

18

So, not looking to turn it into a diatribe, but was it a faux pas when Trump walked ahead of the Queen (during an Army formation), inevitably showing him her back?

Tripler
If I remember, it seemed to be some sort of kerfluffle–I just don’t know why.

19

A. Fighting ignorance, remember?
B. Pedantry is what we do.
C. We can stop seeing this pedantry when posters on the board stop getting it wrong.

20

To elaborate on previous posts: the country of England is a component of the country of the United Kingdom, of which Her Majesty is Queen, but as DrDeth comments, her title is based on the UK, not the components.

Similarly, HM is Queen of Canada. She has a similar head of state role for each of the Canadian provinces, but she does not have a title of Queen of Quebec, Queen of Saskatchewan, and so on.