Royal dynasties,
\namong other things, have compelled recognition because of their customs, but
\nalso because of their feasts. The Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, the lineage
\nof Romania’s King Carol I, made no exception to that; in the beginning, the
\nroyal protocol was rather rigid, but in time, the protocol had the personal
\ntouch of King Carol I and his successors, kings Ferdinand, Carol II and
\nMichael. Stefania Dinu is the author of Royal dinners and menus. Elegance,
\nsplendour and good taste. <\/p>\n
Stefania Dinu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
King
\nCarol I was the one who established the protocol of Romania’s ruling and then
\nRoyal court. He is the one who set things to rights, that including the
\nprotocol of the royal dinner and the celebration of Christmas. King Carol I
\nbecame famous for his punctuality and temperance and, no matter who his guests
\nwere, his protocol had to be faithfully observed. For instance, when they were
\nat the Peles Castle, the king and the queen set off together for the dining
\nroom to have dinner. By all means, the protocol was clearly specified for that.
\nGuests had been announced well in advance and knew their place at the dinner
\ntable, closer or further away from the king. Nobody was allowed to leave the
\ntable unless the king gave the signal for that, nobody was seated unless the
\nking gave the signal, no one was to start the conversation unless the king was
\nthe first one to speak to the guests. The moment the king finished the first
\ncourse the plates were cleared, irrespective of the fact that the last guest at
\nthe table may have not finished eating.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The royal menus
\nwere printed on luxury paper, decorated with drawings or engravings by fine
\nartists and ennobled by the royal cipher. Dished were cooked using French
\nrecipes, but included in the menus were also German, Romanian or
\nEnglish-inspired dishes. As expected, the Christmas dinner played a key role in
\nthe royal protocol and as part of the royal family’s domestic customs. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Stefania Dinu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nfir-tree was adorned for the first time for the Christmas of 1866, at the Royal
\nPalace in Bucharest. It was adorned by ruling prince Carol I and his wife,
\nElisabeth, but also by the princesses that had been invited at the palace. For
\nthe three days of Christmas, the family relaxed. No people received in
\naudience, no receptions, those were just days of peace and quiet. Sometimes the
\nroyal family went to the skating rink. King Carol and Queen Elisabeth loved
\nskating. The only child of the royal couple made of Carol and Elisabeth,
\nPrincess Mary, died at the age of four, in 1874. The queen could not have other
\nchildren, and that is how Carol’s nephew, his brother’s son, the future King
\nFerdinand, was adopted as a successor. When the princely family was formed,
\nthrough the marriage of Prince Ferdinand to Princess Mary of Edinburgh, the
\nroyal family made of Carol and Elisabeth made a habit of spending Christmas at
\nthe Cotroceni Palace, in order to be with the young family and their children.
\nAnd that became a rule, as long as King Carol and Queen Elisabeth were on the
\nthrone of Romania. A description could be found in the archives, of the
\nChristmas Eve preparations, when Carol and Elisabeth arrived at the Cotroceni
\nPalace. The fir-tree was brought from Sinaia, the game and the mistletoe were
\nbrought from the royal estates and domains, the fir-tree was adorned in the
\ngreat reception hall in the Cotroceni Palace and at 6.00 pm sharp, the royal
\nfamily arrived in Cotroceni. Gifts were distributed, then the invited
\ndignitaries arrived, the dinner began, and at 1030, 11 o’clock pm at the
\nlatest, the festivity drew to a close. Carol and Elisabeth took their leave and
\nit was the princely family’s duty to entertain the guests. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A grand ball was
\nusually held at the Royal Palace on January 1st, with more than a
\nthousand people participating. The guest list was compiled by King Carol
\nhimself, who was very particular about the participants. After his death in
\n1914, King Ferdinand and Queen Mary, who had been married since late 1893,
\nrendered the protocol less strict, and the reception less austere, and the Christmas
\nand the New year’s Eve festive dinner they offered were more entertaining and
\nhad a lot more splendor. Even their
\ndomestic habits became more laid-back. We can see that if we have a closer look
\nat the family breakfast protocol. The royal family had breakfast starting 9 am. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Stefania Dinu: <\/p>\n
There were two options for the breakfast. For the first option, you could have
\ntea, coffee with milk, butter, cake breads and marmalade. At the same time,
\nKing Ferdinand had French fries with a Schitzel or grilled meat, following the German
\nmodel. As for some of the children, the princess and the princesses, they did
\njust like their father, having a stake in the morning and drinking a big cup of
\nchocolate. Just as the head of the Cotroceni Palace chancellery wrote, ‘ the
\nslim and slender figure was not quite fashionable at the royal court.’ At King
\nFerdinand’s court, the tradition of the Christmas celebration continued. As
\nKing Carol had died in September 1914, that year, Christmas at the Royal Court
\nwas hosted by King Ferdinand. There always was a set menu for the Christmas
\ndinner at the Royal Court, including the same courses. A special role was
\nplayed by the plum pudding included in the menu, a typical dessert dish for the
\nChristmas dinners in England, which was Queen Mary’s favorite. It was also her
\nwho, in her Memoirs, gave an account of guests from the British Legation from
\nBucharest coming over to the Christmas dinner at the Royal Palace to have a
\ntaste of the meat pie and the plum pudding that was served there.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
During King
\nCarol II and King Michael’s reigns, royal festive dinners became more modern,
\nin that they were less formal and less pompous. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An insightful look at the Royal family’s habits and customs for Christmas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[42546,45560,45559],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-169491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-king-carol-i","tag-stefania-dinu","tag-the-royal-family"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n