Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Curtsies Impressively in Japan

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh knows how to work a curtsy. 

The Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, dipped into an impressive curtsy when she met the Emperor of Japan, 65, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Sept. 19.

The Duchess of Edinburgh and her husband, Prince Edward, are visiting Japan from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22 to celebrate the strong bilateral relationship between the country and the U.K. A Buckingham Palace statement said that the audience reaffirmed ties between the households and celebrated the breadth of the relationship between the U.K. and Japan. 

Sophie dropped into a deep curtsy as she and Edward met Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako.

Etiquette expert Myka Meier previously told PEOPLE that she is “most impressed” by Sophie’s curtsy.

“She consistently has an amazing approximate 13-inch dip and is always strong and steady on her feet…perfect time and time again!” she said. “A good curtsy takes muscle and balance!”

The voluntary gesture of respect is a custom within the British royal family when greeting others of a more senior royal rank.

“There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms,” outlines the royal family’s website, which has yet to be updated in full following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022. 

“For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy,” it says. “Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way.”

Sophie’s curtsy is not the first to catch attention this week.

On Sept. 16, Kate Middleton dipped into a quick curtsy when she said goodbye to King Charles following the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral. Kate is known to curtsy to her father-in-law in public as a gesture of respect, and she dropped into the curtsy after giving him a kiss on each cheek.

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When the U.S. state visit to the U.K. began the following day, some wondered if first lady Melania Trump broke protocol by not curtsying to Princess Kate, Prince William, King Charles or Queen Camilla when she met them.

As the royal family’s website guides, the first lady of the U.S. was not in the wrong, as there are no requisite codes of behavior when greeting the British royals.