PRESENTED AT COURT

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 72, 18 December 1928, Page 27 (Supplement)

PRESENTED AT COURT

Preparations for the Occasion

The Courts held at Buckingham Palace, when the London season is at its height and women of many lands aspire to appear before the King and Queen of Great Britain, are as eagerly awaited by dress-designers and business houses as they are by the mixed crowd that throng the street from an early hour to watch the long procession of purring automobiles, with their beautiful occupants, waiting in the Mall.

Although the presentations do not take place until late in the evening, the first cars begin to arrive at 0 o’clock in the afternoon. Then follows a long wait, when the time is passed by the waiting ones in reading, playing cards, and with music. Others derive as much amusement from tire curious eyes that peer through the glass windows as the gazers themselves. The windows of the great, grey palace glow more brightly, the sentinels pacing before the grilled gates wear their towering busbies with a jauntier air, and even the policemen as they hold back the surging crowds smile more genially than is their wont. There is an old-worlc atmosphere about the fine old coaches brought out of the Royal stables for the occasion. With their coachmen and footmen in wigs and tricorn hats, and with the accompanying clatter of the horses’ hoofs on the hard pavement, they are more impressive than the automobiles that roll silently under the portecochere. There is a stir of expectancy among the watching crowd as the coaches whirl by and members of the Royal Family are recognised. The scene inside the palace is a brilliant one. Here is beauty, and here distinction; here are women wearing the loveliest gowns that money can buy. Though each is dressed according to her own taste, there is a uniformity in the three soft white plumes that crown every head. From them floats a transparent veil of tulle, and from every pair of shoulders falls a Court train which lends dignity to its wearer. The brilliance of the scene is enhanced by the flashing of jewels. Courtiers, Government officials, naval and military officials and members of the diplomatic corps, resplendent in glittering uniforms, still and straight as statues, form a subdued background for the lovely procession that files past their Royal Highnesses. On these occasions only members of the fair sex are presented to their Majesties. Husbands may accompany their wives, but, according to custom, men make their formal obeisan to the King at the levees.

Among the aspirants to this great honour are many wealthy American women. But wealth cannot secure an entry through the portals of Buckingham Palace, and it is only a few who receive the Lord Chamberlain’s notice that he has been “commanded by their Majesties to invite” the recipient to attend Court on a given day. Even after this there is need for precaution. There is many a slip between the receiving of the first notice and the first step taken on the red carpet of. the throne-room. It is whispered that some have been dropped from the list because of premature bragging. There is a great period of preparation. Court dresses must be made, which means attendance at a large number of mannequin parades in search of style to suit the individual. The dressmaker must be chosen. English houses have an advantage in that they know best what is expected. London trade is very jealous of its Court orders. The prosperity of many of the shopkeepers depends in large measure on the Court and the social activities that it inspires during the season. Periods of mourning have been shortened because of the protestations of tradesmen. A formal remonstrance was sent to the King in 1768 from the City of London regarding the length of time the Court held to its black, urging that business should be considered. In our own era, when Lady Asquith invited some Paris dressmakers to show their creations in her salon in Downing Street, the Press took up the cudgels in favour of the London houses.

The designer, however, can make no difference to certain features that distinguish a Court dress from costumes worn at ordinary social functions. There is no chance, of a woman erring in the correctness of her appearance. Precise directions are sent to everyone attending a drawing-room. The train, banished by King George IV. and which appeared four yards in length in Queen Victoria’s reign, is worn again, though of a more reasonable length, lying but eighteen inches on the carpet. Although the old Court custom of pressing the Queen’s hand to the lips is not practised now, the symbol is preserved by entering tha throne-room with the right hand bared. There is also much care as to the correct length of the skirt. The vigilance of attendants in the dressingrooms and the gentlemeu-in-waiting in the ante-chambers makes it practically impossible for anything incorrect to pass. It is said that an English woman of distinction who ignored the decree that trains should be shorter, and whose majestic velvet appendage, by some mischance, was not noticed by the attendants until its wearer entered the throne-room, received a reprimand sent by Royal messenger next morning. Weeks of practice precede the final curtsey before the throne. Each generation has its favourite teacher. To-day it is Mlle. Vaccani. Debutantes are instructed to drop their eyes as they bow before the King and to raise them with a pleasant smile a they come up. There are two curtsies to be made, one to the King and one to the Queen, when the glance is again lowered. While moving away the head must be turned in the direction of their Royal Highnesses until the gentleman-in-waiting places the train over the extended left arm.

The pupils at rehearsals, who range from slender girls to portly dowagers, circle the room with solemnity, bowing before the two chairs which represent their Majesties, a crumpled piece f cretonne serving as a train. At last the members of the class are ready for the ordeal that awaits them—an ordeal of only a few minutes, but the supreme event of a lifetime to hundreds.