Foreign Titles.
In this country, where everybody possesses one and the same title, that
of a citizen of this Republic, no one can claim a superiority of rank
and title. Not so in European countries, where the right of birth
entitles a person to honor, rank and title. And as our citizens are
constantly visiting foreign countries, it is well to understand
something of titles and ranks and their order of precedence.
ROYALTY.
In England, the king and queen are placed at the top of the social
structure. The mode by which they are addressed is in the form "Your
Majesty."
The Prince of Wales, the heir-apparent to the throne, stands second in
dignity. The other children are all known during their minority as
princes and princesses. The eldest princess is called the crown
princess. Upon their majority the younger sons have the title of duke
bestowed upon them, and the daughters retain that of princesses, adding
to it the title of their husbands. They are all designated as "Their
Royal Highnesses."
THE NOBILITY.
A duke who inherits the title from his father, stands one grade below a
royal duke. The wife of a duke is known as a duchess. They are both
addressed as "Your Grace." The eldest son is a marquis until he inherits
the higher title of his father. His wife is a marchioness. The younger
sons are lords by courtesy, and the daughters are distinguished by
having "Lady" prefixed to their Christian names. Earls and barons are
both spoken of as lords and their wives as ladies, though the latter are
by right respectively countesses and baronesses. The daughters of the
former are "ladies," the younger sons of both "honorables." The earl
occupies the higher position of the two in the peerage.
These complete the list of nobility, unless we include bishops, who are
lords in right of their ecclesiastical office, but whose title is not
hereditary.
All these are entitled to seats in the upper House of Parliament.
THE GENTRY.
Baronets are known as "Sirs," and their wives receive the title of
"Lady;" but they are only commoners of a higher degree, though there are
families who have borne their title for many successive generations who
would not exchange it for a recently created peerage.
A clergyman, by right of his calling, stands on an equality with all
commoners, a bishop with all peers.
ESQUIRE.
The title of Esquire, which is only an empty compliment in this country,
has special significance in England. The following in that country have
a legal right to the title:
The sons of peers, whether known in common conversation as lords or
honorables.
The eldest sons of peers' sons, and their eldest sons in perpetual
succession.
All the sons of baronets.
All esquires of the Knights of the Bath.
Lords of manors, chiefs of clans and other tenants of the crown _in
capite_ are esquires by prescription.
Esquires created to that rank by patent, and their eldest sons in
perpetual succession.
Esquires by office, such as justices of the peace while on the roll,
mayors of towns during mayoralty, and sheriffs of counties (who retain
the title for life).
Members of the House of Commons.
Barristers-at-law.
Bachelors of divinity, law and physic.
All who in commissions signed by the sovereign, are ever styled esquires
retain that designation for life.
IMPERIAL RANK.
Emperors and empresses rank higher than kings. The sons and daughters of
the emperor of Austria are called archdukes and archduchesses, the
names being handed down from the time when the ruler of that country
claimed for himself no higher title than that of archduke. The emperor
of Russia is known as the czar, the name being identical with the Roman
cæsar and the German kaiser. The heir-apparent to the Russian throne is
the czarowitch.
EUROPEAN TITLES.
Titles in continental Europe are so common and so frequently unsustained
by landed and moneyed interests, that they have not that significance
which they hold in England. A count may be a penniless scamp, depending
upon the gambling-table for a precarious subsistence, and looking out
for the chance of making a wealthy marriage.
A German baron may be a good, substantial, unpretending man, something
after the manner of an American farmer. A German prince or duke, since
the absorption of the smaller principalities of Germany by Prussia, may
have nothing left him but a barren title and a meagre rent-roll. The
Italian prince is even of less account than the German one, since his
rent-roll is too frequently lacking altogether, and his only inheritance
may be a grand but decayed palace, without means sufficient to keep it
in repair or furnish it properly.
PRESENTATION AT THE COURT OF ST. JAMES.
It is frequently a satisfaction to an American to be presented to the
Queen during a sojourn in England, and as the Queen is really an
excellent woman, worthy of all honor, not only can there be no valid
cause for objection to such presentation, but it may well be looked upon
as an honor to be sought for.
THOSE ELIGIBLE TO PRESENTATION AT COURT.
The nobility, with their wives and daughters, are eligible to
presentation at court, unless there be some grave moral objection, in
which case, as it has ever been the aim of the good and virtuous Queen
to maintain a high standard of morality within her court, the
objectionable parties are rigidly excluded. The clergy, naval and
military officers, physicians and barristers and the squirearchy, with
their wives and daughters, have also the right to pay their personal
respects to their queen. Those of more democratic professions, such as
solicitors, merchants and mechanics, have not, as a rule, that right,
though wealth and connection have recently proven an open sesame at the
gates of St. James. Any person who has been presented at court may
present a friend in his or her turn. A person wishing to be presented,
must beg the favor from the friend or relative of the highest rank he or
she may possess.
PRELIMINARIES TO PRESENTATION.
Any nobleman or gentleman who proposes to be presented to the queen,
must leave at the lord chamberlain's office before twelve o'clock, two
days before the levee, a card with his name written thereon, and with
the name of the nobleman or gentleman by whom he is to be presented. In
order to carry out the existing regulation that no presentation can be
made at a levee except by a person actually attending that levee, it is
also necessary that a letter from the nobleman or gentleman who is to
make the presentation, stating it to be his intention to be present,
should accompany the presentation card above referred to, which will be
submitted to the queen for Her Majesty's approbation. These regulations
of the lord chamberlain must be implicitly obeyed.
Directions at what gate to enter and where the carriages are to stop are
always printed in the newspapers. These directions apply with equal
force to ladies and to gentlemen.
The person to be presented must provide himself or herself with a court
costume, which for men consists partly of knee-breeches and hose, for
women of an ample court train. These costumes are indispensable, and can
be hired for the occasion.
THE PRESENTATION.
It is desirable to be early to escape the crowd. When the lady leaves
her carriage, she must leave everything in the shape of a cloak or scarf
behind her. Her train must be carefully folded over her left arm as she
enters the long gallery of St. James, where she waits her turn for
presentation.
The lady is at length ushered into the presence-chamber, which is
entered by two doors. She goes in at the one indicated to her, dropping
her train as she passes the threshold, which train is instantly spread
out by the wands of the lords-in-waiting. The lady then walks forward
towards the sovereign or the person who represents the sovereign. The
card on which her name is inscribed is then handed to another
lord-in-waiting, who reads the name aloud. When she arrives just before
His or Her Majesty, she should courtesy as low as possible, so as to
almost kneel.
If the lady presented be a peeress or a peer's daughter, the queen
kisses her on the forehead. If only a commoner, then the queen extends
her hand to be kissed by the lady presented, who, having done so, rises,
courtesies to each of the other members of the royal family present, and
then passes on. She must keep her face turned toward the sovereign as
she passes to and through the door leading from the presence-chamber.
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