CHAPTER X

PRESENTATIONS AT COURTS AND ATTENDING COURTS

Courts are now held in lieu of Drawing-rooms by Their Majesties the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace, and at which Presentations to Their Majesties are made.

These Courts are held in the evenings at ten o'clock, but the hour at which the company should commence to arrive is intimated by the Lord Chamberlain in the notice issued of the Courts to be held.

Two Courts are usually, but not invariably, held before Easter, and two more after Easter.

Ladies who have been presented at Drawing-rooms and Courts, held during the last two reigns, do not require to be again presented to Their Majesties the King and Queen; thus, ladies who have already been presented at these Drawing-rooms, and who are desirous of being invited to one or other of these Courts, and who are also desirous of making presentations, should send in their names and the names of those to be presented by them to the Lord Chamberlain, St. James's Palace, S.W., on the 1st of January in each year, but not before that date.

Ladies are also privileged to mention at the same time when it will be most convenient to them to pay their respects to Their Majesties. If it should not be convenient for a lady to attend or be presented at the particular Court to which she is invited, it will be open to her to make her excuses to the Lord Chamberlain in writing, when her name can, if desired, and if possible, be transferred to another list.

A lady who makes a presentation to Their Majesties, must be personally acquainted with and responsible for the lady she presents. She must herself attend the Court, and cannot present more than one lady in addition to her daughter or daughter-in-law. The numbers received at each Court being necessarily limited, ladies can only receive occasional invitations. Therefore, those who cannot be included in the year's list of invitations will receive an intimation to this effect from the Lord Chamberlain in answer to their applications to attend.

=The Persons ent.i.tled to be presented at Their Majesties' Courts= are the wives and daughters of the members of the aristocracy, the wives and daughters of those holding high official appointments in the Government, the wives and daughters of Members of Parliament, the county gentry and town gentry, the wives and daughters of the members of the legal, military, naval, clerical, medical, and other professions, the wives and daughters of merchants, bankers, and members of the Stock Exchange, and persons engaged in commerce on a large scale.

Although the word "gentry" is thus elastic, and although persons coming within the category might be fairly ent.i.tled to the privilege of attending Courts, yet it is well understood that birth, wealth, a.s.sociations, and position give a _raison d'etre_ for such privilege; as, for instance, the wife and daughters of an officer in the navy or a line regiment, whose means are slender, and whose position is obscure, would not be justified for these reasons in attending a Court, although the officer himself might attend a levee if desirous of doing so; and this remark equally applies to the wives and daughters of clergymen, barristers, and others similarly situated.

=Presentations to Their Majesties= are made officially by the various foreign amba.s.sadresses, by the wives of the members of the Cabinet, and by the wives of other official personages in various departments of the State, either civil, military, naval, or clerical.

Presentations at each of Their Majesties' Courts are now limited by royal command.

Presentations to Their Majesties should be made either by a relative or a friend of the lady presented who has herself been previously presented.

A lady has the privilege of presenting one lady only at a Court in addition to her daughter or daughter-in-law.

This restriction does not apply to ladies who, from official position or other circ.u.mstances, are specially privileged to make presentations to Their Majesties.

When a presentation is not made officially or by a near relative it is considered a favour on the part of the person making the presentation towards the person presented.

The responsibility of a presentation rests upon the person who makes it, both as to the social and moral fitness of the person presented; therefore, to solicit the favour of a presentation from a friend is to incur a considerable obligation, and it is a favour ladies have no hesitation in refusing unless good reasons exist for granting it.

When presentations are made through official channels the responsibility rests upon the "office" rather than upon the person making the presentation; hence presentations so made have little personal significance to the person making them.

=A Lady having been presented on her Marriage= has the privilege of attending, by invitation, any subsequent Court, but ladies who have no official position will only be allowed to attend a Court by summons every third year. On the accession of her husband to any t.i.tle, she would again have to be presented, and should she marry a second time another presentation would be necessary to ent.i.tle her to attend one of Their Majesties' Courts.

=It is the Privilege of the Married Lady to make Presentations=, but should any person be presented whose antecedents or present position renders her socially unqualified to be presented, the Lord Chamberlain, on becoming aware of the fact, would at once cancel the presentation, and officially announce it in the _Gazette_, and the person making such presentation would be expected to tender an apology for so doing.

=An Unmarried Lady does not possess the Privilege= of making a presentation, however high her rank may be. She is not permitted to attend any subsequent Courts after first presentation until three years have elapsed; save under exceptional circ.u.mstances.

Four Courts are held during each year at Buckingham Palace, two before and two after Easter, but due intimation is given previous to each Court being held by the Lord Chamberlain through the medium of the official _Gazette_, from whence it is copied into the newspapers.

The wives of members of the Cabinet and of the amba.s.sadors or ministers at the Court of St. James's usually attend at each Court, and have the privilege of doing so by reason of the official presentations made by them at each Court.

=It is compulsory for a Lady= making a presentation to be herself present at the Court at which the presentation is to be made, though it is not necessary for her to accompany the person whom she presents, but simply to attend the same Court.

=When a Lady intends making a Presentation= she should, on or after the 1st of January write to the Lord Chamberlain and inform him of a wish to attend a Court, and forward the name of the lady to be presented by her.

=Ladies are not expected= to attend Court more than once in every three years, unless under exceptional circ.u.mstances.

=A Lady attending a Court= may present one lady in addition to her daughter or daughter-in-law.

=A Lady presented for the First Time= can only present her daughter or daughter-in-law at the Court at which she is presented.

=No Applications can be received= from ladies who wish to be presented.

Their names must be forwarded by the ladies who wish to make the presentations.

=Summonses are issued= about three weeks before the date of each Court.

Ladies may be accompanied to Court by their husbands if the latter have been presented, but gentlemen do not pa.s.s before the King and Queen.

Ladies are requested to forward the names of their husbands at the same time as their own, in order that they may be submitted together, as once the summons has been issued the amending of a summons card in order to include a lady's husband can only be permitted under the most exceptional circ.u.mstances.

=Those who have the Privilege of the Entree= enter at the gate of the Palace situated outside Buckingham Gate. Those who possess this privilege are the diplomatic circle, the Cabinet ministers and their wives, and the members of the Household. The rooms, two in number, next to the Presence Chamber, are appropriated to them. All who have the privilege of the _entree_ are received by Their Majesties before the general circle, and according to their individual precedency, and they have also the privilege of making the first presentations.

=When a Lady arrives at the Palace= she should leave her wraps in the cloak-room with one of the maids in attendance. After crossing the Great Hall, she then makes her way up the Grand Staircase to the Corridor, where she shows her invitation-card to the page-in-waiting, and then pa.s.ses on to one of the saloons.

When a lady arrives early she gains admission to the saloon next to those reserved for the _entree_. When she arrives late she has to take her place in a further room of the suite according to the number of persons present.

The gentlemen-at-arms stationed at the door of each room close the gilt barriers when they consider the saloons are full. Chairs and benches are placed in the corridor and in these saloons for the accommodation of ladies thus waiting their turn to enter the Throne-room or Presence Chamber.

As the ladies quit each room for the Presence Chamber, others take their places, and the barriers are again closed, and this is continued until every one has been received.

A lady has to pa.s.s through the two _entree_ saloons before reaching the Picture Gallery.

At the door of the Picture Gallery a lady's train, which she has. .h.i.therto carried on her arm, is let down by two officials in attendance, and spread out by them with their wands; she should cross the gallery with her train down to the Presence Chamber, at the door of which she should give the card of invitation she has brought with her to the official stationed there to receive it.

=A Lady on being presented=, curtsys to the King and curtsys to the Queen. The King bows in return, as does also the Queen. A lady presented does not kiss the Queen's hand, as she formerly did. The King does not shake hands with any present, however high their rank may be, neither does the Queen shake hands with any present.

A lady on being presented does not now curtsy to any member of the Royal Family when she has pa.s.sed Their Majesties, and leaves the Presence Chamber, stepping backwards, facing the royal party, until making her exit from the apartment, when an official places her train on her arm at the threshold of the doorway.