the last debutantes were presented at court in 1968.
when was the last debutantes presented at court?
1968
in the late 1950s the duke of edinburgh referred to the ball as "bloody daft" and demanded that it no longer be held at buckingham palace. princess margaret, reportedly disapproved of the ball (she is said to have complained that: "every tart in london is getting in"), particularly that candidates were bribing former debutantes to sponsor them, as a sponsorship was required in order to participate. in 1958 elizabeth ii announced she would no longer have debutantes presented at court. in the 1960s and 1970s the participation in debutante balls around the united kingdom dropped, leading to the queen charlotte's ball folding in 1976.
queen charlotte's ball
after queen charlotte's death in 1818, the ball continued to be hosted by the british sovereign and consort. young women from noble and gentry families were presented as debutantes to the royal court. after being presented at court, debutantes were allowed to partake in all the exclusive social diversions of high society: attending parties, balls, and horse races, and being eligible for marriage. debutantes presented at queen charlotte's ball would curtsey to the reigning sovereign as he or she stood beside a large birthday cake.
queen charlotte's ball