The cake surrounded at Queen Charlotte's Ball, 1938

A huge white cloud of debutantes around the traditional huge cake wheeled out at Queen Charlotte's Ball and cut by the guest of honour, in the case of this year, the Duchess of Gloucester. Queen Charlotte's Ball, held in honour of the wife of King George III and revived in 1925 to raise funds for the maternity hospital of the same name was one of the highlights of the London Season for a debutante. All the girls would be dressed in white, and would dip into a carefully choreographed curtsy as the cake was cut which was lit by candles representing the number of years since the Queen's birth. There was apparently quite a scrum to get a piece of the cake afterwards

Balls Charlottes Debs Debutante Debutantes

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > COI