Part 12 (1/2)
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.