ON BEING PRESENTED

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17408, 22 May 1928, Page 5

ON BEING PRESENTED

PREPARATIONS FOR COURT. Debutantes (and others) who aspire to be “Presented at Court” have to take the preliminary steps a long way ahead. This is because, although the actual “Courts" are not held until May and June (two in each month), the lists of guests are completed much earlier. Once these lists are filled up it is almost impossible to 'appear in them.^ How, then, to get on “the List"? That is the problem that confronts many a woman anxious to “make her curtsey" to Royalty at Buckingham Palace. Well, thene are difficulties. Still, for those who go the right way Lo work, they are not insuperable. The first thing to bear in mind is that nobody, -whatever her rank or position, has a right to attend a “Court." It is a privilege, and the invitation comes from their Majesties. As the number who wish to receive it -s always much larger than room can be wounr for, the invitations have to be restricted to those who are considered most eligible. They are issued in the form of a “summons” by the Lord Chamberlain. Hence it is to this authority that the initial application has to be addressed. Securing a "Summons.” A debutante can only be “presented’ by a married woman who has herself already received this social imprimatur. If she is willing to undertake the responsibility (a very real one), she writes to the Lord Chambertain as soon after January 1 as possible. In doing so she must request permission te attend a “Court” and to “present” the girl whose name she gives, and for whose eligibility she is prepared to vouch from personal knowledge. Only one “presentation” can be made at a time, and it is not etiquette for a chaperone to submit such a request more than once in three years. If all goes well in due time there arrives an official envelope with the. coveted “summons cards.” These state that “the Lord Chamberlain is commanded by their Mejesties to summon to the Court to be held on Their receipt has to be acknowledged promptly, if for any unforeseen cause it is impossible to attend a full explanation is required. If none is submitted the fact is remembered, and the offender is automatically struck off the list of “eligibles.” Certain classes of people have, naturally enough, more chance than others of being bidden to a “Court.” Among such arc peeresses, and the wives and daughters of high functionaries in the naval, military, civil, and diplomatic services, etc. The King and Queen also make specially welcome distinguished \\"mcn visitors from the overseas Dominions, as well as from America and other countries, desirous of being presented to them. Such presentations are regarded as “official,” and are held earlier in the evening than are those of the “general circle." Invitations to Buckingham Palace are not to be had merely for the asking. Very far from it. The list of applicants is subjected to a severe scrutiny, and anyone whose conduct has ever been called in question stands no chance of setting foot within the Palace. But this is as it should be, for a “presentation" is not an empty honour. It implies that those who have received .t are held worthy of meeting their Majesties. A period of feverish anxiety follows the arrival of the “summons cards.” There are a thousand things to do, with not too much time to do them. First of all, there is the important matter of getting the dress. Very strict rules goven cut, pattern, material, length of train, etc. Lest error should be committed, the approved designs can be seen beforehand at the Lord Chamberlain’s office; and anxious dowagers and debutantes flock there, to assure themselves that everything is just as it should be. Still, a good deal is left to the wearer’s individual taste. Thus, dead white is no longer insisted upon for colour, and soft silks and satins are permitted. Veils and feathers, however, are “regulation.” This veil must be of white tulle, with three ostrich feathers above it. The other accessories are a jewelled band, or wreath of flowers, gloves, and a bouqudt or fan, etc. The hour for a “Court” is 10 p.m. But as this is the moment when the King and Queen enter the Throne Room the company have to assemble at the Palace much earlier. If they did not they would stand no chance of getting there until the end of everything, l'or the approaches are packed with a solid mass of cars from 7 o’clock. The period of waiting is apt to he something of a trial of good temper. This is because, during its continuance, the general public swarms round , the cars, stares , unabashed into the windows, and subjects their occupants to frank criticisms. Fond parents hold up small children, and bid them “Look at the prelty lady!" and ribald youths ask dignified chauffeurs if they are “hired by the month,” etc. To exhibit annoyance, or threaten to call the police, is an error. The repartee of the London Cockney can be positively devastating. The entrance to the Palace is by the front quadrangle. Here the general company arc received by liveried servants, who direct them to rooms where wraps, etc., arc deposited. They then pass up the Grand Staircase, flanked on either side by stalwart Gentlcmcn-at-Arms and picturesquely clad Yecmen of the Guard. Progress is slow, for there is bound to be a dense throng Still, the top is eventually reached, and the first-comers find themselves in a series of drawing-rooms. Here Lhey sit on gilded chairs, and pass the time chatting and comparing notes. The rule at a “Court” is x “first come, first served," or, rather, first “presented.” By degrees the occupants of the front rows of chairs are summoned by a Gentleman Usher to step into the adjoining Picture Gallery. This means that the great moment is at hand. In “tho Presence.” Clutching her precious “summons card" and offering up a devout hope that there is nothing the matter with her dress, the debutante moves slowly forward in a long queue. As she reaches the head of it a Page of Honour spreads out the train she has been holding, and takes her card. This is handed up to the Lord Chamberlain, who stands at the door of the “Presence Chamber.” He gives a swift glance at it to memorise the name inscribed there. Then, with a reassuring nod to the bearer, he calls out in a resonant voice, “Miss , Presented by !” This really is the Croat, Moment of the evening. Conscious that every eye is watching to remark how she will acquit herself, the debutante crosses the threshold, in front of her are /Continued In next column.)

seated their Majesties, the King and Queen, on gilt chairs, with members ol the Royal Family on their Jeft, and the “Great' Officers of the Household” standing in a semi-circle behind them. As her name is called the newcomer takes three steps forward and curtseys, first to Uic King and then to the Queen, who smile their acknowledgments with a reassuring bow. Having done this, she leaves the Chamber by a door at the farther end, etiquette demanding 1 that she shall walk backwards from "the Presence.” A “Court" is a Cinderella affair. By 12 o’clock the guests are expected to have left. Ten minutes before the hour strikes wraps are reclaimed, aim everybody is streaming into the hall. Soon the last car has driven from the quadrangle. The tread of sentries, keeping their watch and ward, is the only sound heard. One by one, the lights flicker and disappear. Buckingham Palace is wrapped in shuttered darkness. The “Court” is over.