Spanish Royal Birth Etiquette

“If the child is a boy, the Spanish flag will be hoisted on the Palace and a salute of twenty-one guns will be fired. If it is a girl, a white flag will be run up and a salute of fifteen guns will be fired. If the event occurs at night, an electric light in the national colors will he displayed on the Palace for a boy, and of white light for a girl.”

As Stork Arrives, Guns Will Roar – Royalty to Welcome the New Heir 

Elaborate Preparations Being Made to Receive the Future Prince or Princess of the Spanish Throne

MADRID, April 4.— The royal decree just issued, with the details of the ceremony of the presentation of the heir to the Spanish throne at the moment of its birth, prescribes that the court officials shall be present, also the ministers, the presidents of the two chambers, the Knights of the Golden Fleece, the captain general, the commission of the Asturias and representatives of civil and military corporations. Members of the diplomatic corps will also be invited to attend the ceremony.

If the child is a boy, the Spanish flag will be hoisted on the Palace and a salute of twenty-one guns will be fired. If it is a girl, a white flag will be run up and a salute of fifteen guns will be fired. If the event occurs at night, an electric light in the national colors will he displayed on the Palace for a boy, and of white light for a girl. All of the customary decrees ordering a general amnesty, the release of prisoners condemned for minor offenses and the bestowal of recompenses and decorations upon various persons have been prepared.

How Guests Will Dress

The decree directs attention to the remarkable publicity given in accordance with the etiquette of the Spanish court to the intimate affairs of the Royal family. As soon as evident signs of approaching confinement are noticed, those invited to attend the ceremony must hasten to the Palace, the men attired in uniform and the women in court dress.They must wait in the ante chamber until the infant is presented. 

With the least possible delay the baby is dressed and placed in a basket standing on a golden salver. The King takes the basket, holding the child in his hands and followed by members of the Royal family, enters in where the presentation ceremony is held. Raising the veil over the infant's face, the King says:

“I present to you my beloved son or daughter, the successor to the throne of Spain, the Prince, or Princess of the Asturias, to whom my dear spouse has just given birth.”

Then the Minister of Justice as the principal notary of the realm approaches and views the face of the child and all those invited file past. As soon as the presentation is ended. a solemn Te Deum is sung in the royal chapel. – By the Associated Press, April 1907

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