Royal Shopping Etiquette

                                  

Depiction of Harrod's in the 19th Century — Royal tradition ended in 2000, with the removal of royal warrants, and after the death of Princess Diana. Harrods severed its commercial links with the Royal Family by removing warrants from its prestigious shopfront. Workmen have taken down the warrants, which show that the Royals buy goods from the store, from outside the Knightsbridge building. The Royal seal of approval was also removed from the store's vans, marking the end of a 62-year tradition.

Poor Queen - She Can Take Only One Shopping Trip Every Year!

LONDON (UPI)—Queen Elizabeth II likes to have what she calls “a really good poke” 'round everything on the one time a year when she goes shopping—for Christmas presents. Court etiquette prevents her from going out to buy anything except Christmas gifts. Everything else is sent to the palace for her to choose from. So the Queen always looks forward eagerly to her annual expedition to a famous store (Harrods) in the London district of Knightsbridge, near Buckingham Palace, for the pleasure in which other women take as a matter of course. 

She writes her gift list weeks in advance, makes secret inquiries as to tastes, and adds Prince Phillip's gifts to her own. Her Lady-in-Waiting telephones the store manager to say when she is arriving. “No publicity, please,” is the strict rule. One Christmas the newspapers described the toys the Queen had bought. Her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, discovered what they were to receive three weeks in advance. This year the queen has a special gift for them.

She is having a “teen-age rumpus room” made in the Victoria Tower of Windsor Castle, which the royal family uses as a weekend home. The sound-proof room will have television, hi-fi equipment, a tape recorder and rugs that can be removed for dancing sessions. It is due to be inaugurated formally with a teen-age cocktail party when Prince Charles, 16 and Princess Anne 14, arrive home for the holidays from Gordonstoun and Benenden Schools, respectively. Normally the Queen has a big house party at her country home at Sandringham during Christmas but this year renovations are in process there, so the royal family will spend Christmas at Windsor. 

It is celebrated in the traditional English manner, with a Yule log burning in the hearth and the rooms decorated with holly, mistletoe and pale Christmas roses. Dinner is the same every year —roast turkey with sausages and chestnut stuffing, sprouts and carrots, followed by hot mince pie and plum filled Christmas pudding. There's fruit, candy and crackers, which are pulled. The hats they contain are put on by everybody. The Christmas dinner is served at 1:00 p.m. instead of in the evening, so all the children over seven can be present. Those under that age eat upstairs in the nursery suite, but come down during the afternoon for the children’s party. 

The brilliantly decorated and illuminated Christinas tree is ceremoniously revealed at dusk in the ballroom when the double doors are flung open. There is a gift from everyone in the building. The Queen distributes the packages, such things as socks or china for her staff and servants, puzzles and jokes for the royal family. They exchange their personal gifts on Christmas Eve, just before carol singers come into the hall to sing the Christmas hymns. The Queen and all the Royal family join in. On Christmas morning, everyone attends church and Prince Philip customarily reads the Scripture lesson. – The Desert Sun, December 1964

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

Christmas Etiquette for Elizabeth II

While in London, the Queen also will slip out one day for her only shopping expedition of the year to choose personal Christmas presents. All her clothes and wants of the year are brought to her at the palace or purchased by a Lady-in-Waiting in accordance with Court etiquette. But she can shop in public if she is buying gifts for somebody else. 

Queen Elizabeth Seeks Yule Tree at Windsor

By MARGARET SAVILLE LONDON (UPl)—Queen Elizabeth II is keeping her eyes open literally for a Christmas tree. During her horseback rides at weekends on her estate surrounding Windsor Castle, she is looking for a tall fir which can be cut just before the long Christmas weekend. The family will spend the holidays at Windsor. The tree, part of the Christmas tradition which the Queen loves, will be gaily decorated and set up in a corner of the castle ballroom to be illuminated at dusk on Christmas Day. Holly and mistletoe will be brought in to decorate the rooms, along with masses of white chrysanthemums from the hot houses. The kitchens will be busy cooking roast turkey, Christmas pudding and mince pies for the traditional dinner. 

Chief Guest 

Before leaving Buckingham Palace for the castle, about 25 miles up the Thames River from London, the Queen will be the chief guest at what must rank as the world’s most exclusive Christmas staff party. The Buckingham Palace Social Club gives the annual buffet dance for the staff of the Royal household. The Queen dons a ballgown, lends one of her white and gold state rooms for the evening, and goes along to dance with her chauffeur or telephone operator or perhaps the chef. Prince Philip, her husband, partners with a housemaid or sewing maid. Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, once danced with a junior footman who long had cherished a secret admiration of her and enlivened the moment by reciting a long romantic poem he had composed in her honor. Once Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, faced with a blushing gardener who had never been round a dance floor before, said, “Well, just hold my hand and walk round but please don’t tread on my toes.” He didn’t. 

While in London, the Queen also will slip out one day for her only shopping expedition of the year to choose personal Christmas presents. All her clothes and wants of the year are brought to her at the palace or purchased by a Lady-in-Waiting in accordance with Court etiquette. But she can shop in public if she is buying gifts for somebody else. So she makes the most of the opportunity at one of the big department stores. She drives up to a side door and is escorted around by the manager as she goes through the long list—four children and 21 godchildren for a start, not to mention friends and relatives. 

Not Cash 

The Queen does not pay cash. The checks go later in triplicate to the treasurer at Buckingham Palace. For the Christmas weekend, Elizabeth invites the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon with their two children, the Duke and Duchess of Kent with their two, Princess Alexandria and her businessman husband, Angus Ogilvy, with their two, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester with their younger son, Prince Richard. The elder, Prince Michael, is abroad in the diplomatic service. Prince Philip’s widowed mother, Princess Andrea of Greece, who now makes her home at Buckingham Palace, is expected to join the party attend a carol service in the local church and exchange their gifts on returning home. These are generally modest because expensive presents are reserved by custom for birthdays. The children find their gifts in their stockings when they wake up on Christmas morning. They also get to see Prince Philip the way the public never does—dressed up as Santa Claus. –The Desert Sun, 1967

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

BFF Etiquette and "Lillibet”

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret arriving at Glamis, Scotland, with their nanny at the time, Margaret “Bobo” MacDonald, in 1931 ~ MacDonald was in the Queen’s service for 67 years -Photo: Getty Images

The Queen’s Maid Travels Loaded

LONDON (UP)—Have ironing board, will travel. Such is the case with Miss Margaret MacDonald, a brisk, auburn-haired Scotswoman in her 40’s. Miss MacDonald, or “Bobo,” is personal maid to Queen Elizabeth II and accompanies her wherever she travels. Miss MacDonald went to work for the Royal family as a girl of 18, coming from her home in Inverness to be nursery maid to the Duchess of York and her baby daughter. Princess Elizabeth, as a small girl, would dash from behind a door to startle the maid by crying "Bobo.” The name stayed and so did Miss MacDonald. Ever since, she has looked after the woman who became ruler in 1953.

Her Friend 

Bobo is the Queen’s closest friend and confident, the only person outside the immediate royal family who calls Elizabeth "Lillibet” in private. She attends to all the Queen’s wardrobe and it is her pride to send Elizabeth out looking immaculate, no matter how close together the number of public appearances. Then, Bobo slips on her own jacket and joins the crowds, probably wearing the diamond clip the Queen gave her recently, or the gold watch, which was a gift from the Queen Mother. 

The Queen's personal maid is on duty every day, taking time off as she feels inclined. She does most of the Queen's personal shopping, since Court etiquette precludes the Queen buying her own make-up and accessories. The maid lives in her personally-furnished suite in Buckingham Palace. It is Bobo who always wakes the Monarch with a tray of tea in the morning, and then reminds her of the day's list of duties. Miss MacDonald has her own sleeping compartment in the royal train and cabin on the royal yacht, Brittania. There also are a chair and berth for her in the royal aircraft. And wherever Bobo is, with her are ironing board and sewing basket. 

Does Everything 

Her job is to pack the Queen’s clothes, using typewritten lists of every article for quick reference. She does Elizabeth’s personal laundry, helps her with her daily dress, and presses clothes the Queen wore the previous day. The maid travels with a typed outline of Elizabeth's itinerary each date, with a code number beside it to indicate what outfit the Queen means to wear for a particular engagement. It is Bobo who makes the appointment with the hairdresser, the chiropodist, the dressmakers. She calls the physician if it seems Elizabeth is getting a cold, telephones other Royalties with personal messages, buys picture postcards for Elizabeth to mail back to Prince Charles and Princess Anne, and shops for souvenirs. And when the Queen is through with any of her clothes, Bobo cuts out identifying marks and sends them to the Salvation Army for distribution to the needy. The exception: the gowns of state, which are destroyed because no one else is entitled to them. 

The Queen's maid usually dresses in plain black on duty, but likes to look elegant when not at work. In the afternoons, she sometimes walks across from Buckingham Palace to the staff quarters of St. James’s Palace to have tea with her sister, Ruby, who is Princess Margaret’s personal maid. Her sister is married to one of the Queen's footmen, and the couple lives in a small apartment in St. James’s. – Madera Tribune, 1957

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