Unusual Royal Traditions And Practices


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Princess Agnes said:
About the presence of parents at christenings, a few decades ago in some catholic regions (I'm portuguese) the mother wouldn't be present at a baby's christening. For example, my grandmother stayed home during the christening of all her 4 children.

This has to do with some ancient traditions that forbade newmothers from entering a church for some time after birth (most places said 40 days I believe).
Nowadays no one cares about it and also children are bapthised much older.
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Yes it was called being churched. Back in the days (If you watched the show the Tudors for instance you would see it on the show) women would go into seclusion for months before birthing the baby. And it was not until after 40 days, when the mother was cleansed of the birth, she could enter church again.

Back then of course they couldn't wait 40 days to baptize a baby. Babies were usually baptized within 3 days of life, because of high infant mortality. It is how many births are dated like Shakespeare. Births were not often registered, but baptisms were. So they often take 3 days off a baptism date for a figure like Shakespeare, to settle on his birth date.
 
I know that when it comes time for High Sheriffs of counties in Britain to be chosen (nowadays it's a ceremonial role) Queen Elizabeth pricks out the names with a bodkin during a Privy Council meeting. That tradition dates from Elizabeth I, who was sitting embroidering when she was first asked to choose the names and used a bodkin to do so.
 
:previous:
You mean that Queen Elizabeth uses a needle to pick out sheriff's? Does she do embroidery or sew? I mean I know that in the past ladies of leisure, royals or nobles had to know how to do that for that was part of their job in making shirts /clothing for the family, but today's day and age? I can't see HM sewing in my mind, do we know it her mother did or that Queen Mary did? Don't get me wrong for I grew up with a needle and thread attached to me as a baby/child and can do all those things today thanks to my grandmother which I think is slowly becoming a lost art, so in my mind picturing HM with a needle and thread is hard. How would a person pick someone with a needle even that type of needle? If HM does do some needlework, that would be amazing, I actually carry my knitting on public transportation when I use it to keep me sane and from being bored.:)
 
I don't think the Queen is a keen knitter or sewer, though apparently she and her sister Margaret were taught to sew and knit during the war. The Queen simply uses a needle called a bodkin to prick out the names of chosen High Sheriffs on a piece of parchment. (Their names are already written there.) The first Elizabeth was a very accomplished needle woman who was proud of her embroidery.
 
:previous:
Thank you for letting me know. I do remember that HM was a volunteer for the Red Cross I believe in WW2 and having that skill does come in handy during times like that. Now I understand what you mean, at first I was like what....I wonder if any of the women in the royal family today has developed the skill for the needle work arts for doing that is an art, it takes lot of time and patience to make something out of a needle and thread, I know for I do lots of needlework and some pieces can have over 200 colors of threads, try keeping all that in order, sometimes impossible.

Thank for the info on Queen Victoria and I wonder if any of her works has survived to this day? Would love to see it.:)
 
Curryong:
I also love the fact that HM keeps the traditions alive to this day that were carried out by Queen Victoria, I strongly believe in keeping traditions alive for they are our heritage and history.
 
Queen Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Wales between 1558 to 1603. She was the one who did embroidery and first used the bodkin. So the tradition of pricking the names has been going on for about 450 years. :flowers:

Queen Victoria was Queen of Britain between 1837 and 1901. :)
 
:previous:
450 years and it is still being done.............AMAZING! sorry for the caps, that took me by surprise. Well I am glad to see that some traditions are still alive today. Thank you for letting me know, I have a few of those large needle and I use them for various things. Seriously doubt if any of Queen Elizabeth 1 needlework would still be around, but it would be something nice to see if it was....Many thanks for the info and conversation..:flowers:
 
Just on a whim I thought I'd see what I could come up with and found one piece of needlework that Elizabeth 1 did when she was still Princess Elizabeth and 11 years old.

Scroll down a bit in this link to see it.

ARTIFACTS of the Tudors - The Tudors Wiki

I think the most unusual tradition for me has to be the Hostage MP. One member of parliament is taken to and held hostage at Buckingham Palace before the Queen leaves for the State Opening of Parliament. It dates back to when the monarchy and parliament weren't on friendly terms.

If any monarchy embodies the history and traditions of the past, its the British hands down.
 
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:previous:
Thank you for the link, saved it and will be reviewing it later when I wake-up..:lol:.

And the hostage thing, is it still done today? Darn how does Parliament feel about that and how do they pick the hostage and where is the hostage kept? Maybe in the dungeon with only bread and no water, just where they belong :ROFLMAO: HM takes a hostage....that is so funny and unbelievable.

Any more of those traditions for now I am learning alot here, so far it is:
1) Picking the sheriff with needles whose names are on a piece of paper
2) Taking a member of Parliament hostage when HM gives the State of Union speech in Parliament

I so love these traditions for to me it keeps the history and heritage alive as they way it should be.:flowers:
 
Curryong said:
I know that when it comes time for High Sheriffs of counties in Britain to be chosen (nowadays it's a ceremonial role) Queen Elizabeth pricks out the names with a bodkin during a Privy Council meeting. That tradition dates from Elizabeth I, who was sitting embroidering when she was first asked to choose the names and used a bodkin to do so.
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Amazing.
I thought a bodkin is an (armour-piercing) arrow. I didn't know it had other meanings as well.
 
Due to a decree by King Charles II of England, at least six ravens must be kept at the Tower of London. Charles II had considered doing away with the ravens of the Tower.
 
I saw the full ceremony of Prince Andrew being introduced into the House of Lords back in 1987 on YouTube. Why haven’t William and Harry been formally introduced into the House of Lords? Has the requirement been done away with? Or will these ceremonies take place upon Charles’s succession?

Here is The Duke of York’s Introduction into the House of Lords Ceremony-
 
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I'm just going on a wild guess here but I would imagine that it would have to do with the House of Lords reform of 1999. The 1999 House of Lords Act. An important amendment allowed 92 hereditary peers to remain members of the Lords for an interim period. The Act reduced membership from 1,330 to 669 mainly life peers. There have been several amendments to the House of Lords Act since.

William and Harry are hereditary peers.
 
Dman said:
I saw the full ceremony of Prince Andrew being introduced into the House of Lords back in 1987 on YouTube. Why haven’t William and Harry been formally introduced into the House of Lords ?
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Because William and Harry, as other hereditary peers, are no longer automatic members of the House of Lords.

Following the House of Lords Act 1999, there are only 92 hereditary peers left in the House of Lords. Two of those are actually ex-officio members; for the other 90 seats, any hereditary peer in the country can stand for election when a seat is vacant. Theoretically, William and Harry could stand too, but, as princes of the United Kingdom, they aren’t supposed to do so.
 
So does this mean they can’t attend the State Opening of Parliament? Or them being hereditary peers automatically give them the right to do so without the introduction?
 
I don't believe there is any fast rule on who can accompany the monarch to the State Opening of Parliament. Many royals have done so in the past.

The introduction to the House of Lords was for the specific reason that at one time a hereditary peer automatically could sit in for proceedings of Parliament so they were "introduced". This is no longer so. The three branches come together for the State Opening. The House of Commons, The House of Lords and the Monarch. The two houses are the only ones with any kind of legislature power and that's dominated by the House of Commons actually. The Lords shares the task of making and shaping laws and checking and challenging the work of the government.

The State Opening of Parliament is very traditional and ceremonial with rituals that go back hundreds of years.
 
Thank you guys for explaining this to me. I was just curious as to why we haven’t seen anymore royal introductions into The House of Lords? Now it’s making sense to me.
 
King George V and Queen Mary attends the Welcoming Ceremony of The Prince of Wales, Duke of York and Duke of Gloucester back to London. My guess they were abroad. We don’t see these kind of Welcoming Ceremonies for senior Members of The Royal Family on their return to London from trips anymore.
 
Dman said:
King George V and Queen Mary attends the Welcoming Ceremony of The Prince of Wales, Duke of York and Duke of Gloucester back to London. My guess they were abroad. We don’t see these kind of Welcoming Ceremonies for senior Members of The Royal Family on their return to London from trips anymore.
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The trips tend to be shorter these days since travel is faster--I imagine that has something to do with it.
 
O-H Anglophile said:
The trips tend to be shorter these days since travel is faster--I imagine that has something to do with it.
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Yeah, the idea of cutting down on ceremonial events probably had something to do wth it as well. I think there used to be an official banquet held in the returning royals honor at Banqueting House as well.
 
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The Japanese royals still have these ceremonies as well as several other mainly Asian monarchies. In Europe it seems that the Spanish are most official in their comings and goings on official trips.
 
The British royals count arrivals and departures on trips as official engagements; which is noted in the CC.
 
So many ceremonies in Japan ;)

* send off and welcome back ceremonies as Somebody mentioned
* birthday greetings
* visiting the ancestors' shrine before and after foreign trips. Also, grave visits after longer trips abroad.
* visiting the emperor, empress, and ancestors' after academic milestones (i.e. - finishing primary school)
* reporting your coming-of-age to family, ancestors, and ancestral deity at Ise Shrine
* marriage rituals: nosai-no-gi (formal betrothal), kokki-no-gi (announcing the date), choken-no-gi (formal audience)
* walking backwards after formal greetings, skip to 3:45 in the video below to see Princess Tsuguko's exit after New Year's greetings
 
Does anyone know if this "tradition" is true where the Japanese Emporer is forbidden to eat the food "Fugu" (pufferfish) because of safety reasons?
 
The late King Hussein of Jordan had someone eating a part of his food before him for Security reasons
 
Lee-Z said:
Does anyone know if this "tradition" is true where the Japanese Emporer is forbidden to eat the food "Fugu" (pufferfish) because of safety reasons?
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was htat what poor George Bush ate that made him very publicly ill?
 
At a royal dinner in England, when the Queen stops eating, everyone stops eating.
 
When hosting dinners for foreign dignitaries the Swedish Court put discreet placemats in the same fabric and colour as the tablecloth at the seats of the hosts and the guests of honour if they are commoners. Why you may ask? The reason is that according to old court traditions a royal should never share a tablecloth with a commoner so this is a way to get around this.
 
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