Etiquette and the King’s Car

A motoring Monarch was a grave crisis in the history of Spanish royal etiquette!

Spain’s Blithe Young King

There is a grave crisis in the history of Spanish etiquette, says the London Chronicle. King Alfonso XIII, who is described by a French Journal as “very impulsive and at the same time very ‘sporty,’” wishes to make a royal progress through his Kingdom in an automobile. Horror of the Prime Minister! Such a vehicle, he says, is beneath the dignity of a Monarch to whom the constitution has entrusted the “sumptuous car of the state.” 

The sumptuous car must not be driven by petroleum. Horses are still harnessed to the Chariot of the Sun. But Spanish etiquette does not prevent the Monarch from traveling by railway. Lady Currie tells a story of a young man who jumped into a compartment one day on the English train and started a conversation with an old lady who greatly admired his pleasant manners. When he was alighting site asked his name and he answered, blithely, “Alfonso.” He was Alfonso XII, then a cadet at Sandhurst. The anecdote will probably be read at Madrid with pain and incredulity. — King City Rustler, 1905

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and a Dish of Tea

         
 

A Dish of Tea

“Dish” throughout the eighteenth century was a colloquialism for cup. In fashionable houses at first, and for long, tea was drunk from a cup without a handle brought from China. The vessel was termed a “dish.” When the Chinese cup was first copied by English potters, the convenience of a handle was added. 

The deep saucer from a beautiful Samuel Alcock “True Trio” — A true trio is two different shaped, porcelain cups (one for coffee and one for tea) and one matching saucer, circa 1840s. True trios were sold in this manner, as a consumer would conceivably need only need one saucer, as the coffee and tea would not be drunk simultaneously.

The saucer also was brought from China. It received the name because of its resemblance to the English saucer, a platter in which sauce was served. The familiar gibe, “saucer eyes,” was originally inspired by the sauce saucer, long before Lord Arlington gave the first “tea party” in England in Arlington House, where Buckingham Palace stands, at the Restoration period. — London Chronicle, 1913

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia