"The Queen Loves Bare Shoulders," San Francisco Examiner, Mar 28, 1886

"The Queen Loves Bare Shoulders," San Francisco Examiner, Mar 28, 1886

Lippincott, Sara Jane (pseudonym: Grace Greenwood), 1832-1904

Monarchy

Social Critique

Humor

Gossip--Published

Manners / Etiquette

England--London

The San Francisco Examiner publishes one of Greenwood's letters. In a witty account, Greenwood comments on the royal etiquette.

Credit

Newspaper.com

Lippincott, Sara Jane (pseudonym: Grace Greenwood), 1832-1904

Wm. S. Moss

1886-03-28

Reference

It is said that noble young ladies, aspiring to the position of maids of honor, prepare themselves by spending an hour or two a day in a refrigerator. The London correspondent of one of the Milan newspapers dwells pathetically on the sufferings of the ladies in the House of Lords on that fearfully-inclement Thursday, when they sat, stripped almost to the waist, all through the ceremonial and the reading of an unusauall long speech, blue with cold and shivering visibly. [...] It is said that Princess Beatrice was some time since compelled by severe attacks of rheumatism to adopt that plebeian modern innovation, a high-necked evening dress; but until this instance, the only one in which the Queen was known to relax the Medien-Persian law of court etiquette was in favor of our noble American singer--Antoinette Sterling. Mme. Sterling was "commanded" to Windsor to sing before her Majesty, but respectfully represented that she could only do so on hygenic and high-necked conditions. These were granted, and the "gentle savage" appeared before the most august body of the world, before the most decorous decollete and court circle of Christendom--appeared calm and grave, and simple as usual, and clad in "full dress," as she understood the term--that is, decently draped from head to foot, and from shoulder to wrist. here was a little scandal, of course, but it was hushed up.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/458050002. Accessed 10 June 2021.

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