Court Circular
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Court Circular is the official record that lists the engagements carried out by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Commonwealth Realms; the Royal Family; and appointments to their staff and to the court. It is issued by Buckingham Palace and printed daily in The Times, The Scotsman and The Daily Telegraph newspapers. An archive of the circular back to 1998 is provided on the British monarchy's website.
The circular is traditionally written in very formal language, and describes persons with their official styles and titles at all times (Michael Ancram, for instance, is referred to as "the Marquess of Lothian MP"). There has, however, been some modernisation of the writing style in recent years.
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[edit] History
The Court Circular was first established by King George III. The King had become irritated by the press at that time, who frequently reported false movements of the Royal Family. Therefore the King created an official circular to all the press that listed the engagements carried out by his family.
[edit] Structure
The Court Circular follows royal protocols very strictly. Announcements in the circular are listed by the official residences of the Royals, in precedence. Only engagements which are carried out by the Queen (or in the UK on the Queen's behalf) are listed. Certain engagements carried out in the UK by non-Royals on the Queen's behalf are also listed.
[edit] Present day
Today, the following members of the Royal Family are listed in the Court Circular:
| Name | Residences | Styled. |
|---|---|---|
| The Queen | Buckingham Palace Windsor Castle Sandringham House Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace Various Government Houses |
The Queen[1][2] |
| The Duke of Edinburgh | Buckingham Palace Windsor Castle Sandringham House Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace |
The Duke of Edinburgh, then His Royal Highness |
| The Prince of Wales | Clarence House (until 2002, St. James's Palace) | The Prince of Wales (in Scotland: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay), then His Royal Highness[3] |
| The Duchess of Cornwall[4] | Clarence House | The Duchess of Cornwall (in Scotland:The Duchess of Rothesay), then Her Royal Highness |
| Prince William of Wales | Clarence House | Prince William of Wales then His Royal Highness |
| Prince Henry of Wales | Clarence House | Prince Henry of Wales then His Royal Highness |
| The Duke of York | Buckingham Palace | The Duke of York, then His Royal Highness |
| The Earl and Countess of Wessex | Buckingham Palace | The Earl and Countess of Wessex, then His or Her Royal Highness |
| The Princess Royal | Buckingham Palace | The Princess Royal, then Her Royal Highness |
| The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester | Kensington Palace | The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, then His or Her Royal Highness |
| The Duke and Duchess of Kent | St. James's Palace[5] | The Duke and Duchess of Kent, then His or Her Royal Highness |
| Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy | Thatched House Lodge, Richmond | Princess Alexandra, then Her Royal Highness. |
- ^ A relationship with an organisation or place is generally indicated, e.g. The Queen, Duke of Lancaster or The Princess Royal, Patron
- ^ When visiting the Isle of Man, the style used remains The Queen, and no mention is made of the style Lord of Mann. See Court Circular, Monday, 7th July 2003 for an example.
- ^ Duke of Cornwall is used as an addition, not a replacement to The Prince of Wales
- ^ Since her marriage to the Prince of Wales on 9 April 2005, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall is now listed in the Court Circular, using the name and title of The Duchess of Cornwall, and in Scotland, The Duchess of Rothesay. So far, she has mainly carried out duties in the company of the Prince of Wales, but has carried out several solo engagements.
- ^ The Duke and Duchess of Kent do not reside at St. James's Palace. However, their offices are based there, and they have use of apartments at the Palaces as a London residence.
Note that The Duke of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, and The Princess Royal do not actually reside permanently at Buckingham Palace. However, their offices are based there, and they have use of apartments at the Palaces as a London residence.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent do not appear in the Court Circular as they do not carry out official royal engagements on behalf of The Queen.
Likewise Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie of York do not carry out official royal engagements and do not appear on the Court Circular. However, it is likely that they will do in the future, and will appear in order of precedence among the list above. Prince William began carrying out royal duties in July 2005, and was listed for the first time in his own right on July 2, for representing the Queen at a war memorial service in New Zealand.
[edit] Commonwealth Realms
When the Queen is visiting one of the Commonwealth Realms, the relevant Government House or hotel where she is staying is listed in the Court Circular as her residence. This differs from State Visits to foreign countries where either the official residence of the foreign Head of State, or whichever hotel the Queen is staying at; or simply Buckingham Palace.
When other members of the Royal Family visit one of the Commonwealth Realms, their UK prinicpal residence is listed.
There is no separate Court Circular for any of the Commonwealth Realms outside the UK. The Court Circular only lists engagements carried out by the Queen, and not engagements carried out by others acting on her behalf outside the UK, for example by vice-regal officers such as Governors or Governors-General.
[edit] Events commonly listed in the Court Circular
- Investitures by the Queen
- Privy council meetings attended by the Queen or a Counsellor of State
- Meetings (described as Audiences) between the Queen and the First Lord of the Treasury (Tony Blair), or the First Minister of Scotland.
- Royal engagements in the UK or abroad
- Departures of members of the Royal Family from the UK to attend events abroad
- Engagements of the Chief of the Diplomatic Corps on behalf of the Queen (usually the bidding of farewell to departing ambassadors)
- Attendance of representatives of the Royal Family at memorial services.
