Meeting the Sovereign and Members of the Royal Family

• Guidelines
• How to address
• Host
• Curtsy/bow
• Dress
• Smoking
• Toasts
• Meals and drinks

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada. By the Constitution Act, 1867, the executive government of and over Canada is declared to continue and be vested in The Queen. Parliament consists of The Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons.

Guidelines

Visits by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family are always special occasions, but individual engagements can range from the very formal to the informal. Members of the Royal Family wish any elements of protocol to be in tune with what is generally acceptable in Canadian society. The following guidelines are designed to help people feel comfortable and prepared; they are not rules to be applied inflexibly or prescriptively.

How to address

The Queen is called Your Majesty initially and Ma'am (rhymes with jam) as the conversation continues. The Duke of Edinburgh is called Your Royal Highness initially and Sir as the conversation continues. Other members of the Royal Family are called Your Royal Highness initially and Sir/Ma'am as the conversation continues.

Host

Upon arrival at each site to be visited, the members of the Royal Family will be greeted by the host. No presentations are required as they will be aware of who the host is, having been provided with briefing notes.

When accompanying the Royal Visitor, it is appropriate for the host to walk beside the Royal Visitor. The host should make introductions as required.

Curtsy/bow

It is up to those meeting The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family to choose whether or not they wish to bow/curtsy or simply shake hands.

Description of a bow/curtsy for those who choose to make it:

Men: a neck bow - just a little more than a nod of the head;

Women: the right foot is placed behind the left heel, and the knees bent slightly.

It is quite in order to shake hands if the opportunity presents itself and a member of the Royal Family offers to do so.

Dress

Members of The Royal Family do not wish anyone to be put to unnecessary expense by buying special clothes, hats or gloves. The following points may, however, be of use in answering queries:

• There is no requirement for hats to be worn, though it is entirely acceptable to do so. Hats are not normally worn at functions after 6:30 p.m.
• There is no requirement for gloves to be worn. However, if a woman wishes to wear gloves, they need not be white and should not be taken off before the wearer is presented.
• Where black tie and long evening dress are called for, cocktail dress, national dress and dark lounge suit are also acceptable.

It is not generally known in advance what colour clothes Her Majesty or other female members of the Royal Family will wear at functions.

Smoking

Neither The Queen nor The Duke of Edinburgh smokes. However, they do not object to smoking by guests at the end of a meal.

Toasts

In proposing the Loyal Toast, the proposer rises, waits for silence and, raising his/her glass, then says (without other speech or words): Ladies and Gentlemen ~ The Queen - La Reine. All persons participating in the function rise, repeat the words: The Queen - La Reine, drink the Toast and resume their seats. Members of the Royal Family usually do not respond to toasts, but may choose to do so.

Meals and drinks

Meals should generally be limited to a maximum of three courses and not last too long. Not more than an hour and three-quarters should be allowed for a luncheon engagement, of which about one hour fifteen minutes should be allowed for the meal itself and the remainder for arrivals and departures, presentations, signing of visitors' book and retiring periods usually ten minutes before and five minutes after the meal. No more than an hour and three-quarters should be spent at dinner sitting at the table, including speeches.

Serving a meal at which a Member of the Royal Family is the principal guest always imposes a strain on the catering system and almost invariably takes longer than hosts may expect. If the first course is cold, it should, if possible, be on the table before the guests sit down, including the head table. It is important to brief the caterers to make sure that there is no undue delay about removing plates from the lingerers when it is obvious that the timing of the meal is falling behind.

Where possible, the seating plan should be cleared with the Royal Party in advance. There are no firm rules but the following guidelines may be helpful:

• at public lunches or dinners where there is one top table, the host normally has the Royal Visitor on his/her right and the Royal Visitor' spouse (if it is the case) on his/her left. The hostess normally sits on the left of the Royal Visitor's spouse;
• at informal meals, Royal couples prefer to sit at opposite sides of the table, with the Royal Visitor on the right of the host and the Royal Visitor's spouse on the right of the hostess;
• for both formal and informal occasions, the trend increasingly is that round tables are used so as to give more chance to converse. In this case, the Royal Visitor and spouse will generally sit at separate tables;
• a Lady-in-Waiting should be placed at a table near a female Member of the Royal Family's table, and in cases where the Royal Visitor is speaking, it is necessary for the Private Secretary to be seated not too far away so that he/she can pass on the speech at the appropriate time;
• it is not necessary to put other members of the Household close to the Head table. The Household prefers to be split up and placed amongst the other guests.

Where it is appropriate, the host usually asks a religious representative present to say Grace.

Members of the Royal Family like to eat the food and drink of the country/region visited. Hosts should contact the Royal Visit Office for more specific information.

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