Many of you know I have been for info on how women were introduced at 
Court. I haven't been able to find out about period court or Queen 
Elizabeth II Court, but I did find this about Queen Victoria's Courts.

Rigidly defined rules also determined what a young lady could and 
must wear, and these formal regulations were rigorously enforced. For 
presentations, one was required to wear a gown with a train, and a 
tulle headdress with a veil that was long enough to float over the 
train. The style of the dress itself varied with the Monarchy, no 
matter what the popular fashion of the time was. For example, during 
the reign of King George III and Queen Charlotte, the court dress 
style was hoop-skirted and elaborate, even though fashion styles at 
that time called for simple dresses with high waists. During the 
reign of King George IV, hoop skirts were expelled and court-dress 
style became a variation of whatever was popular for formal evening 
wear during the period. 

For a young unmarried woman, white was the preferred color for her 
dress, though other soft colors were acceptable, over a white 
background. Married women to be presented were allowed more color, 
however, most chose soft shades and white. It was not un-common for 
women to have their wedding dress modified into a court dress. 
Frequently, wedding dresses were made with two different bodices: one 
for the wedding; one for court. Court dresses were usually short-
sleeved, and--unless a doctor's certificate could be presented 
stating that such a thing was injurious to the young woman's health--
it was absolutely mandatory that a court dress be low-cut. 

The headdress, while always including a veil, also required feathers 
as part of it, although, the number and size of the feathers varied 
with the Monarchy. At the time of Queen Charlotte, young ladies wore 
one single towering ostrich feather, but through the years, the 
number of feathers required increased.

Queen Victoria hated small feathers, so orders were issued that Her 
Majesty wanted to see the feathers as the young lady approached. 
Later in Queen Victoria's reign, as well as in the court of Edward 
VII, the mandated headdress was three feathers arranged in a Prince 
of Wales plume--that is, the center feather was higher than the two 
on each side of it--and it was worn slightly on the left side of the 
head. Tiaras were worn by married women, and it was extremely 
difficult to keep the feathers in place, especially during the curtsy.

For young ladies and women to be presented who were in mourning, it 
was acceptable for their dresses and veils to be black. No matter how 
cold the weather was on this special day, absolutely no cloaks, 
shawls, capes, or wraps of any kind were permitted to be worn. Those 
items remained in the lady's carriage. 

It was required for each girl to be accompanied by her "sponsor"--an 
older woman of suitable rank and unimpeachable respectability 
preferably, her mother. The excited young ladies waited for hours in 
their carriages outside St. James Palace for their turn. Then they 
waited for almost as long once they entered the Palace, remaining in 
the chilly St. James Gallery until receiving their summons. Finally, 
the ladies were ushered into the Queen's presence in a seemingly-
endless line, in order of precedence that is, lined up according to 
the importance of their father's titles. When she stepped into the 
drawing room where the Queen stood, the young lady handed her card to 
Lord Chamberlain, who in turn, announced her name while another 
gentleman-in-waiting spread out her train for her. Then, she set 
forth across the great room toward a group of royalties dressed in 
richly-colored glittering gowns and uniforms.

 As she approached the Queen's throne, the nervous young woman prayed 
for her steps to be steady; prayed that she would not trip or 
otherwise disgrace herself; that she would not fall as she curtsied; 
that her feathers would stay in place and finally, she found herself 
standing before the Queen. The young lady made her full curtsy until 
she was nearly kneeling, bowed, and kissed the Queen's hand. As she 
touched her lips to the hand of the Queen, no doubt the young woman 
was thinking about the power represented by this hand; the historic 
decrees it had signed; the times it had been raised in a gesture 
heeded around the world.... Yet, if the young woman was the daughter 
of a Duke, a Marques, or an Earl, she did not kiss the Queen's hand 
rather, the Queen kissed the young lady's forehead.

At this point, the young lady rose and curtsied again in genuflection 
to other royalties who were present, finishing with one last brief 
curtsy to the Queen. Then came the real trick backing out of the room 
with a ten-foot train! To do this, the woman had to reach for her 
train, and as gracefully as possible, drape it over her arm to get it 
out of the way. More often, however, lords-in-waiting retrieved the 
train for her and draped it over the young woman's arm. Then, step-by-
step, the young lady backed out of the room. Liveried servants were 
strategically posted to help guide the debutantes, but most seemed to 
have negotiated their exit with little misfortune. 

It took weeks of preparation for the event, but this short ceremony 
allowed the young lady full-membership into fashionable Society and 
the "Marriage Market", along with its collective privileges. She was 
now permitted to attend court functions, balls and parties of which 
she would have otherwise not been included. As well, she could now 
negotiate an acceptable marriage in high society. Formal presentation 
to the Queen was an honor bestowed exclusively upon young ladies at 
the highest level of society, but anyone who had been presented at 
Court was welcomed anywhere! 

 



________________________________________________________________________
Interested in getting caught up on today's news?
Click here to checkout USA TODAY Headlines.
http://track.juno.com/s/lc?s=198954&u=http://www.usatoday.com/news/front.htm?csp=24