PRESENTED AT COURT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20602, 28 June 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

PRESENTED AT COURT.

ORDEALS OF DEBUTANTES.

,- !t '• J •' r rv-jVr / . DRESS REGULATIONS.

ROUTINE" .OF THE FUNCTION.

il'hq ..King ,and tyeld four .Courts last month, ahfl each was marked by the brilliance-which always attaches to these State functions. Nowhere itt the world does a. personal, presentation to a ruling Sovereign carry with it such marked social distinction, and tiowhero is the list ,of names submitted from various quarters more closely scrutinised.•To be presented at Court is the ambition, of all .ybung women in the circle from ■Which debutantes are drawn. The names itjive to bo ,submitted to the Lord Chamberlain about: four months ( before "the lii'st Court of - the eoason, and as the applicants for presentation far outnumber the limit, many are doomed to disap'piointment;, .. This .may bo only r for a few months, but to a vivacious maiden, perhaps fresh fro,m School, eager to go through tho experience ,of which, society talks so much, tha 'months seem - like years. . \ ' ; Intimation is sent from the Lord Chamtierlain's ofllco whon tho name has been •included in tho list for a particular date. From-that timo onward the mother, who is probably to make the presentation, and the daughjtcr, who is to bo the debutante, discuss little else. Tliere : is no room-for speculation with regard to the dress, official regulations having to bo strictly complied with. Dresses with Court trains not exceeding two yards in .length, and a tulle veil of 45 inches, surmounted by three feathers arranged in thfl shape of a Prince: of Wales's plume-, chief requirements to> be observed. - ' 'Bouquets and Fafafi Optional. :

Short skirts'/have never" been- tolerated at Courts, and coloured feathers are> not permitted. Dresses and gloves may be of any .colour, and in : the case of mourning black . feathera are allowed. It is optional whether a bouquetor a fan, or, indeed, neither is carried, although years ago a lady preparing for' presentation at Court w&s. expected to have a bouquet.On the evening <J'f the great event: mother and'daughter probably leave home, about seven o'clock, the, time for the Court being half-past nine. It is a slow journey, when the car gets within a mile of the Palace. Everybody seems to have chosen the same time and the same rotite, and progress towards tile end of the Mall is about a yard a minute. Once the entrance is reached all trouble vanishes. The Court officials aro wonderfully trained, and each has a duty -which makes the path to the Throne Room as smooth as, possible.. Cards and vouchers being in order, the newcomer is conducted to one of the back seats in the Throne Room, a brilliantly and gorgeously decorated chamber,' in the centre of which the Diplomatic Corps and other distinguished personages are seated. The King and Queen, and probably other member's of the Royal Family, occupy a dais raised a few feet from' the floor. The King is usually in naval uniform, wearing also his Orders, and the Queen varies her costuroo on each., occasion, but sho always looks a' superb and" stately figure. ' Method ol Presentation.

Each debutante is notified a few minutes before her name is reached that sho should prepare, and leaving her seat she is conducted aloug a corridor at tlje side of tho Throne Room to a door opening within a yard or two of the Throne. Sho hands, her credentials to an official in cold-laced uniform, her namo and that of her sponsor is read aloud, and with tremulous , lips and fluttering heart; the debutante advances. The lady curtises low to tho King, and after taking three paces backwards, to the Queen, and then retreats sideways. Under no circumstances must the back bo turned upon the Royal presence. Exactly how tho curtsy should be mado is part of the information which the Lord Chamberlain obligingly gives beforehand, and at his offico sketches of correct types of Court dress can also bo seen. The ceremony over, most of the debutantes and their friends have a standup supper before leaving the Palace. The calling of the cars to avoid confusion is a triumph of organisation, but it is successfully achieved at the close of every Court. . The presence cf the King at the recent Courts for the first, timo since his illness invested the functions with their old-time splendour. Tho number presented was smaller than usual in order to save His Majesty- too much fatigue, but there will be an extra Court in July.