HOW LEVEES ARE HELD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 97, 26 April 1930, Page 15 (Supplement)

HOW LEVEES ARE HELD.

ST. JAMES' PALACE | CEREMONIES. ((PASSING THE PRESENCE." (Bt HORACE WYNDHAM.) Following the usual and long establieliediriuetom, a number of Levees "will be held this year at St. James' Palace during tie spring and early summer. The idea of these functions is to enable officials and private gentlemen of distinction to make the acquaintance of His Majesty the King, or the member of his family who may be deputising for him. v'l , <"J Levee Laws. A levee is limited to the male sex, and is thus to a man very much what -a • "Court" is to a woman. -Thus, it gives jhim the opportunity of coming into pergonal, contact with his sovereign. For this reason it has its own pageantry and etiquette, and special regulations govern the matter of attending. '"C Officers (other than those of the Indian and overseas forces, the Brigadeof Guards and the Household Cavalry) Bubmit. their applications to the Admiralty and the War Office; officers of the. Indian Army and ,the overseas forces to the India Office, and . the Colonial Office; and officers of the Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry to " th« Lord Chamberlain. Members of the ' Civil Service apply to the heads of "their ; respective departments; peers, bishops, lorcfa-lieutenant, members of Parliament, and private gentlemen to the Lord Cham- ■ hcrlaiii; judges and .King's Counsel to.j the Lord Chancellor, and Lord Mayors jind sheriffs, etc., to the Home Secretary. .If the application-is approved (and it ii only in the rarest instances that it is not), a card of admission is forwarded. If, by any chance, it is subsequently discovered that admission has been improperly obtained, the authorities act " very sharply; and a notice appears in the "London Gazette" to. the effect that i "the presentation of at the Levee held an is cancelled." The last instance of this step being adopted wan .. i when -professional bookmaker, managed | to hoodwink the: Lord Chamberlain and receive a card. ■: v $ ( , ' in the "good old- days," however, precautions were «o little observed, that . ■ there seera to have been many such mier. haps. v Thus, the Duke of Wellington •/.. wra recognised an ex-convict mingling with -the throng at the . Palace; and : JPownsend, -the ; Bow • Street "runner", actually arrested a. notorious pickpocket jn the"throne room itself. • Fiiie Feathers. The? 7 sartorial regulations require • iofficers.to wear full dress uniform, and gentlemen. to wear Levee .dress. jThia latter term implies a black velvet suit, with buckled shoes, cocked hat, •word; and white gloves complete. As the average civilian's wardrobe does not often contain such items (the cost of which *i 3 about £70), the custom is to hire them from' firms that make a #peciaßty of this'service. The result is ! not always satisfactory in respect of fit. Still, these are days when economy has p> be istndied. If only by reason of the.great variety ipf uniforms worn, a Levee is full of picturesque touches. Indian Princes, members of the Corps Diplomatique, Cabinet; Ministers, and .lords-lieutenant and sheriffs, together with naval and .imlitafy officers, and a sprinkling of judicial,; civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries, are all to be. eincoimtsxed there, lien who have grown in-the public wrvice mingle with -youiia standings on the threshold of it, aU drawn together in a common bond . of homage. >to V the karrereiga.. The gathering is : thus; an Empire.-; and Circumstißce.^

4^, -A levee is timed to begin at 12 noon, Uveiybofly, however, make# a point of reaching St. James 1 Palace /by 11 o'clock. |Eie general public, who regard, ithe ceremony as one of the-"free sights" of; londoh, assemble on the .pavement, as jaear tie entrance as the police "will let v jflLem, ah hour pearlier. There-i» plenty io eee 'and hear. - A Guards Band plays .. fa thefelfriary I Court; field-marshals, admirals, ambassadors, bishops j and judges, with well-known figures in the jrorlds of art and literature, finance, and politics and society arrive every few minutes, and challenge recognition from the .interested crowd. But only a fleet-' ing glimpse can be caught of them, for < they slip swiftly through a narrow door o''J |USd vanish into thS Palace. As a'preliminary the throng assemble ; ;in a long, red-walled, crimson carpeted room on-'the ground floor. . Then, proceeding up: a broad staircase, lined with 'it-.-jEeomettHof the Guard, the company juiter another room, ihe walls of which are hung with trophies and weapons. This leads into a tapestried ante-room, and file ante-room in turn into the Throne § JSoom. . V _ ['■"% The Throne Room at St. James'Pals.ee :«h a splendid apartment big and equal e- : end lofty, the walls covered*, with red ■ilk panels and hung with portraits. At .the upper end, in front .of a crimson jelvefc curtain, is the Throne •Jftiself,on a dais; Surrounding.it is a •-lemi-circlo of high officials, the principal Of whom is the Lo*rd Chamberlain. Other officials of the Household are .gro.uped ftear him to keep a Watchful eye oh the jknnpany and 6ee that all goes smoothly, i Everything "On Wheels." , 'All goes smoothly and with cloclcwork As it-comes -to the turn of eich member of the throng to advance, his card is taken from him. The Lord Chamber lain, .reads out -the -name on. .it and nods meaningly.;' signal. The bearer' bows. There is aT gracious,.' Acknowledgment from, the ?igureNoa' .thV ; Throne, and the "present effected. That is all. Wo..huj^ r scrambliQg," and no fuss. Everything ''on-rwheels," as it were. ■ In fact, a-levee is a triumph. . of organisation and?g£>od- management. Without a ••hitch an average "total of one thonsand individualg "pass the Presence' • In the compass of little more than an hour. '...'7 ' : r ' • • 1 While there is no actual compulsion to attend, a levee, established custom has none the-less ordained that certain people shall make a point of doing so from time to time. Thus, , all officers, are expected to attend on first appointment, and again afterwards on being promoted in rank. Similarly, membersof any Government Service or holders of important positions under the Crown to well,as any private gentleman :who aspires to be regarded as 'being within . the ranks* of "Society." Where the latter are concerned attendance is looked upon as a social passport.- "It renders the recipient of the honour eligible for invitations to- State functions and admission to the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, etc. In fact, a levee is to a man what 3T ' Court fc to a member of the opposite sex. Having been "presented," he'is "out, \as (t were, : > .? -