388 



ANNUAL REGISTEH, 1805. 



the princes of the blood royal as- 

 scended the haut-pas^ and stood at 

 the ends of the table. Grace being 

 said by the prelate, the sovereign 

 sat don n. Then the knights pift 

 on their caps, and were conducted 

 by the ofliccrs of arms to the table, 

 the seniors lirst, passing up from the 

 lower end, and taking their places 

 according to their seniority. The 

 proxy of the earl of Ilardwicke 

 took his place below the junior 

 knight. Towards the latter end of 

 the first course, a large gilt cup 

 being brought to the sovereign by 

 the cup-bearer, his majesty drank 

 to the knights ; who being, at his 

 majesty's command, informed of the 

 same by garter, stood up uncovered, 

 pledged the sovereign, then sat 

 down, and put on their caps. The 

 second course was. then brought as 

 follows : Four Serjeants at arms, 

 with their maces, two and two; 

 comptroller and treasurer of the 

 household, together, Avith their 

 V. hite staves ; the sewer ; gentlemen 

 pensioners bearing the dishes ; two 

 clerks of the green cloth ; the clerk 

 comptroller ; a clerk of the kitchen. 

 Immediately after, garter, attended 

 by all the officers of arms, advanced 

 from the lower end of the hall, with 

 the usual reverences, to thehaid-pas; 

 and he ascending the lowest step, 

 and crying " largesse''^ thrice, pro- 

 claimed the sovereign's style in 

 Latin, French, and English. The 

 officers of arms then retired, with 

 the usual reverences. Garter, and 

 the officer of arms, then cried " lar- 

 gesse" thrice. Then garter bowed 

 to the duke of Rutland, who stand- 

 ing up uncovered, garter, with one 

 *' largesse'' proclaimed his grace'sj 

 style in English. Garter, and the 

 oiiicer of arms, then cried " lar- 

 jfftjye" once. In like manntT, gar- 

 1 



tcr proclaimed the styles of the earl 

 of Ilardwicke ; the duke of Beau- 

 fort ; the marquis of Abercorn ; the 

 carlof Pembroke ; theearl ofWin- 

 chclsca; and the earl of Chesterfield. 

 The banquet was afterwards brought 

 up to the sovereign's table with the 

 same ceremony as the second course. 

 Dinner being ended, the knights 

 placed themselves in a line as before 

 dinner, and grace being said by the 

 prelate, and the sovereign having 

 washed, the knights altogether made 

 their reverences to his majesty, who 

 put oft" his cap and saluted them. 

 Then the knights and officers re- 

 turned to the presence chamber be- 

 fore the sovereign, in the same or- 

 der in which they came. 



The preparations for this cere- 

 mony were upon the grandest scale, 

 and executed with cxtraordinary 

 clegance and rapidity. In the chapel 

 of St. George, where alone seats 

 could be obtained by the purchase 

 of tickets, places were assigned for 

 spectators in the three ailes, and 

 within the screen : visitors had seats 

 allowed them in the organ-loft, in 

 the body of the choir, in the queen's 

 closet, and in the lord chamberlain's 

 gallery. A gallery was erected on 

 the north side by the altar for the 

 queen and princesses ; it was sur- 

 mounted by a canopy of crimson 

 velvet, with gold fringe. On the 

 opposite side, there Mas a gallery | 

 for the lord chamberlain, the officers 

 of state, the foreign ambassadoi's, 

 and ladies of distinction, to the num- 

 ber of about fifty, including the 

 German, Russian, Swedish, Danish, 

 Prussian, Bavarian, Wirtemberg, 

 Hanoverian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, 

 Portuguese, and American ministers, 

 and their ladies. The banners of 

 the knights were all suspended over 

 tlie stalls, and above them their re- 

 spective 



