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| Come on out, girls | Come on out, girls |
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| For the first time since 1997 young women will dress in virginal white, curtsey to a minor royal and partake of a giant cake at Queen Charlotte's Ball. It's the return of the debutantes - but who are they and what do they do? | For the first time since 1997 young women will dress in virginal white, curtsey to a minor royal and partake of a giant cake at Queen Charlotte's Ball. It's the return of the debutantes - but who are they and what do they do? |
| "We did NOT curtsey to the cake. Let's get that straight," says Elfrida Eden Fallowfield, a debutante in 1958, and niece of Sir Anthony Eden. "Debutantes curtsey to the person they are being presented to, not the cake." | |
| Elfrieda, right, en route to the palace | Elfrieda, right, en route to the palace |
| It's a common misconception. At the Queen Charlotte's Ball - started in 1780, and resurrected on Wednesday after a 12-year hiatus - there is indeed a very large, very white, and very elaborate cake as the centrepiece. | It's a common misconception. At the Queen Charlotte's Ball - started in 1780, and resurrected on Wednesday after a 12-year hiatus - there is indeed a very large, very white, and very elaborate cake as the centrepiece. |
| And the debutantes line up in rows to drop curtseys in its general direction. But they will be genuflecting to Duchess of Somerset and Princess Olga Romanov, a descendent of the Russian Imperial family. Not the eight-foot cake itself. | And the debutantes line up in rows to drop curtseys in its general direction. But they will be genuflecting to Duchess of Somerset and Princess Olga Romanov, a descendent of the Russian Imperial family. Not the eight-foot cake itself. |
| For decades the ball, then held in May, acted as a starting gun for the Season, a six-month whirl of parties and events to launch young ladies, aged 17 to 18, of certain wealth and/or breeding on to the marriage market. | For decades the ball, then held in May, acted as a starting gun for the Season, a six-month whirl of parties and events to launch young ladies, aged 17 to 18, of certain wealth and/or breeding on to the marriage market. |
| Not only did parents hope their daughters would meet a suitable young man, the Season aimed to equip the young women with poise, confidence and social skills needed for their married lives. "Career woman" was not a phrase much heard in those days. | Not only did parents hope their daughters would meet a suitable young man, the Season aimed to equip the young women with poise, confidence and social skills needed for their married lives. "Career woman" was not a phrase much heard in those days. |
| "After the presentation at court [to the monarch], it was the next most important aspect of the Season," says Ms Fallowfield, of the Queen Charlotte's Ball. Aged 18 she was among the last debutantes to be presented at Buckingham Palace in 1958 - the year Queen Elizabeth called time on the anachronistic practice. | "After the presentation at court [to the monarch], it was the next most important aspect of the Season," says Ms Fallowfield, of the Queen Charlotte's Ball. Aged 18 she was among the last debutantes to be presented at Buckingham Palace in 1958 - the year Queen Elizabeth called time on the anachronistic practice. |
| The aura of a closed circle jarred with the new Queen's desire for a more modern monarchy and her sister, Princess Margaret, was said to have detected a decline in the calibre of invitees. "We had to put a stop to it - every tart in London was getting in," she is said to have commented. | |
| We had to put a stop to it - every tart in London was getting in Princess Margaret | We had to put a stop to it - every tart in London was getting in Princess Margaret |
| After the Windsors removed themselves from the formal debutante framework, the ball was kept alive by Tatler's social editor, Peter Townend, as a social and charitable event. He passed away in 2001, several years after the ball folded. | After the Windsors removed themselves from the formal debutante framework, the ball was kept alive by Tatler's social editor, Peter Townend, as a social and charitable event. He passed away in 2001, several years after the ball folded. |
| "The Queen Charlotte's Ball is not quite what it once was in our day," she sniffs in reverie. | "The Queen Charlotte's Ball is not quite what it once was in our day," she sniffs in reverie. |
| Curtsey lessons with Madame Vacari | Curtsey lessons with Madame Vacari |
| "In my day it was terribly grand, held in Grosvenor House. We were taken to Madame Vacani [the royal dance instructor] to learn to curtsey. And we felt terribly grown up in our dresses. Mine was very lacy, with hundreds and hundreds of mother-of-pearl sequins." | "In my day it was terribly grand, held in Grosvenor House. We were taken to Madame Vacani [the royal dance instructor] to learn to curtsey. And we felt terribly grown up in our dresses. Mine was very lacy, with hundreds and hundreds of mother-of-pearl sequins." |
| In the latter years of the ball, while working as principle at the Vacari School of Dance, Ms Fallowfield for a time took on the task of teaching debutantes to curtsey and to waltz. | In the latter years of the ball, while working as principle at the Vacari School of Dance, Ms Fallowfield for a time took on the task of teaching debutantes to curtsey and to waltz. |
| "They'd troop in in their jeans and Doc Martins, but we went along looking like mini-mothers. But they loved it." | "They'd troop in in their jeans and Doc Martins, but we went along looking like mini-mothers. But they loved it." |
| Party time | Party time |
| To the casual observer, Wednesday's Queen Charlotte's Ball has all the trappings of those that went before - except that it is held in September, rather than May - which these days is considered too close to exam time. | To the casual observer, Wednesday's Queen Charlotte's Ball has all the trappings of those that went before - except that it is held in September, rather than May - which these days is considered too close to exam time. |
| The season was an opportunity to hone one's social skills | The season was an opportunity to hone one's social skills |
| Now, as it always has, the event raises funds for the west London maternity hospital and research centre that bears Queen Charlotte's name. | Now, as it always has, the event raises funds for the west London maternity hospital and research centre that bears Queen Charlotte's name. |
| Its origins lay in the desire of George III's wife for an amusing birthday celebration. | Its origins lay in the desire of George III's wife for an amusing birthday celebration. |
| "She thought it would be fun to have her favourite ladies-in-waiting bring in a cake," says Mrs Fallowfield. | "She thought it would be fun to have her favourite ladies-in-waiting bring in a cake," says Mrs Fallowfield. |
| From these intimate beginnings, it became an annual ball at which mothers brought their daughters of marriageable age to be presented to Queen Charlotte. This became formalised into the debutante season. | From these intimate beginnings, it became an annual ball at which mothers brought their daughters of marriageable age to be presented to Queen Charlotte. This became formalised into the debutante season. |
| The white dresses worn by Wednesday's debs nod to the virginity that was once required of a bride, and also hark back to the outfits worn by Queen Charlotte's ladies, who all would have been single women. | The white dresses worn by Wednesday's debs nod to the virginity that was once required of a bride, and also hark back to the outfits worn by Queen Charlotte's ladies, who all would have been single women. |
| Massed debs process down the stairs | Massed debs process down the stairs |
| But today's "debs" are drawn from a larger pool than in the past. Nor is the Season the key method to finding a mate, now women habitually go on to higher education and careers beyond that. | But today's "debs" are drawn from a larger pool than in the past. Nor is the Season the key method to finding a mate, now women habitually go on to higher education and careers beyond that. |
| Tamara McCombe is one of the select few who will be attending the new incarnation of the ball. She's about to start university after a year out which has seen her work in the Far East and do some travelling. | Tamara McCombe is one of the select few who will be attending the new incarnation of the ball. She's about to start university after a year out which has seen her work in the Far East and do some travelling. |
| While the ball has been absent for 12 years, the Season itself never went away, and now revolves around a series of charitable social events with the emphasis on fundraising. | While the ball has been absent for 12 years, the Season itself never went away, and now revolves around a series of charitable social events with the emphasis on fundraising. |
| "There are house parties, there are cocktail parties. There's always lots of money raised." | "There are house parties, there are cocktail parties. There's always lots of money raised." |
| The social element seems secondary, and is as much about generating further contacts for fundraising. | The social element seems secondary, and is as much about generating further contacts for fundraising. |
| "It's about, as far as I'm concerned, meeting new girls from not necessarily your social circle. | "It's about, as far as I'm concerned, meeting new girls from not necessarily your social circle. |
| "Originally it was a marriage marketÂ… having financial backing is no longer [necessary]. They feel they can fund themselves rather than have to rely on a rich husband. Having their own lives is enough. People don't need to be organised into parties to have fun." | "Originally it was a marriage marketÂ… having financial backing is no longer [necessary]. They feel they can fund themselves rather than have to rely on a rich husband. Having their own lives is enough. People don't need to be organised into parties to have fun." |
| Princess Olga in her debutante days | Princess Olga in her debutante days |
| She contrasts the social background of the old school debs with today's more egalitarian times. | She contrasts the social background of the old school debs with today's more egalitarian times. |
| "It was incredibly elite. A lot of the girls come from single parent background and have to finance their own way through university." | "It was incredibly elite. A lot of the girls come from single parent background and have to finance their own way through university." |
| The modern version may look a bit like the old version, but it's really just for show. | The modern version may look a bit like the old version, but it's really just for show. |
| "They wanted to keep some traditional elements for the novelty. [Everyone] knows this is not normal - we all think its somewhat surreal." | "They wanted to keep some traditional elements for the novelty. [Everyone] knows this is not normal - we all think its somewhat surreal." |
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