Princess Lessons Read Free Page B

your mouth as if you are swallowing down cough syrup. SIP from
the side. SIP!
    When the soup in your bowl is at a level that you
must tilt the bowl to reach it, tilt the bowl AWAY from you. Get it? Spoon
AWAY, tilt AWAY. That way you will avoid causing a spill of

    Niagara
Falls proportions into your lap.
    And no blowing on your
soup! If it is too hot to eat, WAIT FOR IT TO COOL. AND NO, YOU MAY NOT SPOON
ICE FROM YOUR WATER GLASS INTO YOUR SOUP. In some countries, the chef would
rightly consider this the gravest of insults, and be justified in throwing you
out of his dining room.
TABLE TALK FOR A PRINCESS
Appropriate Table Conversation for a Princess
    It is considered rude in most countries to talk about politics or religion at the dinner table, unless
you are dining with close friends. People do not wish to have their appetites
spoiled by listening to views that might differ radically from their own, no
matter how much you may wish to enlighten them about the errors of their ways.
Save such lecturing for the cocktail hour, during which your victims might
reasonably fortify themselves against such an onslaught.
PARTY PRINCESS

    Princesses are often
called upon to entertain. Whether you are hosting a ball or a small, informal
tea, the duties of a hostess are always the same:
    â€¢ Attempt to introduce guests who do not know one another, and engage
them in a conversation that can be continued after you politely slip away to
see to your other guests. *
    â€¢ See
that your guests are comfortable (it is inexcusable to leave off the
air-conditioning on a hot day, or the heat on a cold one!) and provide ready
access to food and drink.
    â€¢ Mingle, mingle,
mingle!
    If you are the guest at a party:
    â€¢ Arrive on time, or no later than fifteen minutes after
the arrival time listed on the invitation. There is no such thing as “stylishly
late”—just boorish!
    â€¢ Members of the aristocracy are
generally quite popular, and so are often invited to many events in a single
night. In order to keep from showing favoritism to any one hostess, plan on
spending about an hour at each ball or soiree—enough time for a cocktail.
Dinner parties, however, are more difficult. Princesses should remain at a
dinner party for at least one hour after a meal is served. Any departure
earlier than this is vulgarly referred to by Americans as “dining and dashing.”
If not expected at any other events that night, you may safely remain at any
party until everyone else is departing, or until your hosts begin to look
noticeably fatigued. Then it is polite to take your leave. Be sure to find your
host or hostess before you go, to thank them for inviting you. If he or she
asks you not to leave, or encourages you to stay, you may do so if you are so
inclined and you feel the invitation is sincere.
    â€¢ If you wish to bring a friend or small chien who
was not on the original invitation list, you must ask your host or hostess
ahead of time if this is all right.

    [This
is especially important if some of the other guests (such as Boris Pelkowski)
have allergies and might start sneezing uncontrollably at the introduction of
animal dander into the immediate environment.]
PRINCESS IN WRITING

    Nothing says I appreciate you and all that you do for
me like a thank-you note. Every princess should have her own royal
stationery, preferably monogrammed with her royal crest, upon which she can pen
thoughtful missives to her many admirers. Thank-you notes never go out of
style, and are never unwelcome.

    [If you don’t send thank-you notes when
someone sends you a gift, you may not get a gift from that person ever again,
because they’ll think you are ungrateful!]
The Art of the Thank-You Note
    Send the note promptly after receiving the gift, preferably
within the week. But a late note is better than no note at all.
    The note should sound personal and sincere:
    Dear Mamaw and Papaw,
    I just love the adorable
plaster lawn gnome you