The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-02-07
WHEN THE KING EATS.
Formalities When Edward VII. Dimes
Publicly.

When his Majesty is to preside at a
public dinner variety OF formalities
have to be rigidly observed In the
first place the invitation including a
list of The committee. the toast list and
the speakers must be received at Buck
ingham Palace at least a month or six
weeks ahead Of the date proposed for
the function. II il then Submitted to
the King by his private secretary, and
| if the date does not clash with arrange.
ments made previously. all other de-
tails being in order the invitation is
graciously accepted.
a statement must also be sent an.
pouncing the hour gt which the function
il 70 begin and when II Is expected to
end. These two points are most essen.
tial, as royalty and punetuality are
Synonymous terms Moreover, the King
does not care to spend more than d
number of hours at any public dinner;
therefore speeches and other matters
have to be arranged accordingly.
After these necessary preliminaries
have been satisfactorily arranged the
day on which the banquet Is to take
place i awaited An hour or so before
the commencement of the dinner an
official arrives at the banqueting hall.
Il is his duty 70 examine the plan Of
the tables and To see that the shair at
the King il suitably placed so as to be
free from draughts, noises and other dis
tHrbing influences. This official il ex
eeelinglv fastidious and his word s
law. On not a few occasions he has
thrown every one into a state Of CON
sterHation by demanding a change in
the arrangements Of dinner at the
eleventh hour. The requirements 81 rs
Majesty ia these and other matters
however. are now 50 we'll known that
mistakes are Of rare occurrence.
As soon as the seating arrangements
liave been passed the special wine
which the illustrious guest Is to drink
arrives IN charge of a royal servant.
Members Of the royal family always
send their own wine to public dinners
and, in many cases. their own special
brands of cigars, etc. The wine II III
the charge of responsible servant III
the employ Of the royal household whose
duty it Il to stand behind tile chair 81
fis master and wait upon him.
Special attention has 20 be paid 70
the menu, care being taken that the
card contains an assortment Of dishes
for which the more important members
Of the royal family have a prediction.
The menu is usually short and rarely
exceeds four Of five courses. Private
servants always attend exclusively rs
the requirements Of the royal guests.
Like most Of his methods his Majesty
has dining whims. He will On no ac
count, for instance, allow two knives
q lie on the table before him together.
Il Is believed that the King puts some
faith in the well-known superstition
that i'll comes from the crossing Of
knives. let this be as It may At all
dinners held at Buckingham Palace
clean knife Is placed beside each guest
With every course. and this rule must
be rigidly observed at all public as well
IS private dinners attended bY his
Majesty. And his servants take special
pains to see that it Is 30.
Dinner must be served as soon as his
Majesty is seated None save members
p the royal family is expected to con-
ierse with the King until addressed BIZ
lin. and a stranger must on no account
lttempt conversation without formal
The royal visitor is ex-
'eedingly particular on this point, and IS
most precise in indicating those to whom
lc wishes to be introduced
No one Is permitted to leave the table
Il public dinner until all the members
i the royal family have first arisen and
etired- The King rarely smokes at
'ublic functions but a special room is
Usually set aside for his Majestys ac-
ommodatiou should he wish to do So
nit Bits