Drawingroom-ceremony-of-presentations-31-Mar-1860

The Queen Charlotte's Ball is an annual British

debutante ball A debutante ball, sometimes called a coming-out party, is a formal ball that includes presenting debutantes during the season, usually during the spring or summer. Debutante balls may require prior instruction in social etiquette and appropriate ...

. The ball was founded in 1780 by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

as a birthday celebration in honour of his wife,

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

, for whom the ball is named. The Queen Charlotte's Ball originally served as a fundraiser for the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. The annual ball continued after Queen Charlotte's death in 1818, but was criticised by the British royal family in the 1950s and 1960s and folded in 1976. It was revived in the 21st century by Jennie Hallam-Peel, a former debutante, who shifted its focus from entering high society to teaching business skills, networking, and etiquette, and fundraising for charities. Debutantes being presented curtsey to a large birthday cake in honour of Queen Charlotte.

History

The Queen Charlotte's Ball is named after

, wife of

. The first ball was hosted in 1780 by George III in honour of Queen Charlotte's birthday. The Queen stood next to a giant birthday cake and debutantes curtseyed to her. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz funded a London women's hospital, later named the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, with funds raised from the ball. The ball, which continued to take place annually in celebration of the queen's birthday, became the premier debutante ball of the London Season. After Queen Charlotte's death in 1818, the ball continued to be hosted by the

British sovereign The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

and consort. Young women from noble and

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

families were presented as debutantes to the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

. After being presented at court, debutantes were allowed to partake in all the exclusive social diversions of high society: attending parties, balls, and horse races, and being eligible for marriage. Debutantes presented at Queen Charlotte's Ball would curtsey to the reigning sovereign as he or she stood beside a large birthday cake. In the late 1950s the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

referred to the ball as "bloody daft" and insisted that it no longer be held at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

reportedly disapproved of the ball (she is said to have complained that: "Every tart in London is getting in"), particularly that candidates were bribing former debutantes to sponsor them, as a sponsorship was required in order to participate. In 1958

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

announced she would no longer have debutantes presented at court. In the 1960s and 1970s the participation in debutante balls around the United Kingdom dropped, leading to the Queen Charlotte's Ball folding in 1976.

21st-century revival

The Queen Charlotte's Ball was revived in the early 21st century by Jennie Hallam-Peel, a former debutante, who works as an attorney and runs a company called The London Season. Peter Townend, social editor of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'', reportedly asked Hallam-Peel to "keep the Season alive" prior to his death in 2001. She began touring London's elite private day schools and selecting students as debutante recruits. The modern ball's focus shifted from entering high society to teaching business skills, networking, etiquette, and fundraising for charities. While originally exclusive to members of the British nobility and gentry, the ball now includes debutantes from the British upper middle class and from foreign countries. Many debutantes are from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Debutantes are required to be preparing for or already enrolled at a university. The debutantes are also required to partake in the traditional London season, including the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thr ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

, and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. They are trained in etiquette that involves protocol and diplomacy, foreign orders of precedence and the

orders of precedence in the United Kingdom The order of precedence in the United Kingdom is the sequential hierarchy for Peers of the Realm, officers of state, senior members of the clergy, holders of the various Orders of Chivalry and other persons in the three legal jurisdictions within ...

, seating arrangements, invitations, gifts, titles and forms of address, flag protocol, honours and decorations, and ranks of the

British peerage The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both c ...

. The ball, no longer hosted by the monarch, is officially hosted by John Seymour, 19th Duke of Somerset and Judith-Rose, Duchess of Somerset with Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia and Princess Olga Andreevna Romanoff serving as royal patrons. Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans; Gillian Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans; Sir David O'Grady Roche, 5th Baronet; and The Honourable Lady Roche have also served as hosts for the ball and Prince Nawab Mohsin Ali Khan has served as a royal patron. Rather than curtsey to a monarch, the debutantes curtsey to the birthday cake itself. Each year one debutante is selected as "Debutante of the Year" and she cuts the cake with a ceremonial sword. Since its revival, the ball has been hosted at

Dartmouth House Dartmouth House is a Georgian house in Mayfair, central London, England. It now serves as the headquarters of the English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational charity. It is located at 37 Charles Street, southwest of Berkeley Square. Over 40,00 ...

, Leeds Castle,

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

, and the Royal Courts of Justice. The Queen Charlotte's Ball partnered with the Shanghai International Debutante Ball to organize its events from 2012 until 2016. In 2015

Rachel Yeoh Rachel Yeoh is a Malaysian socialite, heiress, model, and fashion influencer. Early life and family Rachel Yeoh was born in Kuala Lumpur and has a fraternal twin sister, Michelle. A member of a wealthy Malaysian Chinese family, she is the dau ...

and Michelle Yeoh became the first Malaysians to make their debut at Queen Charlotte's Ball.

In popular culture

Fiona MacCarthy wrote about her experiences as one of the last 1,400 debutantes to be presented at court in her 2006 book ''Last Curtsey: The End of the Debutantes''. The Queen Charlotte's ball has also been referenced and depicted in film and television. Stephen Poliakoff's television

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

'' Summer of Rockets'', set during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, features a leading character's daughter attending the ball reluctantly, creating a minor scene by refusing to curtsey to the cake as expected. The 1958 American comedy '' The Reluctant Debutante'' is about a young American woman making her debut in the London season. The ball is depicted in the 2010 British drama series '' Upstairs Downstairs'', when the character Lady Persephone Towyn moved from Wales to London to be presented as a debutante. The Ball is featured in the series

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

(Season 4 Special) when the Crawley's visit London for cousin Rose's coming out. The ball is featured in the 2020

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

original series '' Bridgerton''. In the 2016 series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

,'' the ball is included in a list of recommendations made to Queen Elizabeth II of things to cancel, by

Lord Altrincham Baron Altrincham, of Tormarton in the County of Gloucester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 1 August 1945 for the politician Edward Grigg Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, (8 September 18 ...

in 1957.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1780 establishments in England Annual events in England Balls in the United Kingdom Debutante balls George III of the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1780 Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz