Queen's Butler

THE FOOTMANThree hours in a morning coat, learning the ways of a butler

With a full outfit provided, a butler accompanies you from deportment through to a commemorative photograph.

A butler adjusting the collar of a guest wearing a morning coat

The Footman — Apprentice Butler Experience is three hours at the Manor at 2-7-4 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, in which you wear a full morning-coat outfit and learn a butler's stance, bow, the making of tea, the handling of silverware and serving. One butler accompanies you through to a commemorative photograph and the presentation of a keepsake.

Welcome

Even on a first visit, the butler sets the order from the moment you step through the door

The Footman is time spent in the dress of a butler — not only the costume, but the way of standing and the pause that considers another. You may arrive in your everyday clothes. The butler bows in welcome, takes your luggage and shows you to the wardrobe.

The order in which the outfit is put on, and the moment the white gloves are settled, are each prompted by the butler. Both men and women serve as butlers; if you have a preference, please let us know when applying.

Alone, you can quietly study your own stance and hands. If two or more of you would like to take part, we confirm the combination of outfits in advance. Watching one another open a door or offer tea in the same gesture reveals the difference between the gaze of the one who receives and the one who is received.

About The Footman

In the Dining Room, five apprentices of all ages in morning coats practise bowing after the butler

Three hours

The three hours run from changing to the presentation of a keepsake

In the Dining Room, a woman apprentice in her sixties pours tea from a silver pot with the butler's hand guiding hers

Arrival

The butler opens the door to welcome you, and confirms your wishes for the experience and your outfit size.

Changing

Morning coat, waistcoat, shirt, tie, white gloves and shoes are put on together with the butler.

Posture and walking

Checking the line of the body in the mirror, you learn where to stand, the length of stride and the distance at which to wait.

Bowing and serving

You practise turning to face another, the angle and pause of the bow, and carrying a tray or glass.

Tea and silverware

Through the teapot, the three-tier stand and silverware handled in white gloves, you experience stillness of the hands.

Programme

What you learn: dress, posture, bowing, tea, silverware, serving and the photograph

An apprentice butler correcting posture in the Dining Room

Deportment

Posture, walking and the distance at which to wait, seen from where the butler stands.

In the wardrobe, the butler adjusts the collar and white gloves of a male apprentice in his fifties while a young woman apprentice waits holding a top hat

Bow

The bow

Not only the angle, but the pause that turns the heart towards another.

An apprentice pouring tea beside the butler

Tea

Making tea

Handling the teapot and offering a cup at a table set with a three-tier stand.

Silver

Handling silverware

Holding Christofle silver in white gloves, you learn where to place it and how to move the hands.

In the Dining Room, a mother and son apprentice lay out silver and porcelain in the order the butler indicates

Serving

Handling a tray and glasses, and attending from a distance that does not hinder another's movement.

Wardrobe

The full morning-coat outfit is provided by the Manor

The full morning-coat outfit comprises coat, waistcoat, shirt, tie, white gloves and shoes. The butler checks in turn the single button, the line of the waistcoat, the collar and the fit of the gloves, and settles the silhouette from the side as well as the front.

Sizes and styles are limited. Before booking, please tell us your height, build and shoe size. As a guide, men of 160–185 cm and women of 150–160 cm, with shoes from 24.0 to 27.5 cm; we are happy to discuss other sizes.

Check the outfit and sizes

At the double doors, the butler watches a woman apprentice in her thirties practise opening the door and bowing

In the Fireplace Room, a male apprentice in his seventies carries tea on a silver tray while a young woman apprentice sits in the role of the lady of the house

At a glance

The essentials to check before booking

Duration	3 hours (plans of 6 hours in one day, or three visits, are also available)
Rate	From ¥49,800 (tax included) per person. Eight plans
People	1 to 4 (pair and family plans available)
Outfit	Full morning-coat outfit provided (may be changed to a tailcoat)
Accompaniment	One butler guides you
Record	A commemorative photograph in the Manor

Choose

Choose the next page to read by what you wish to know

In the Dining Room, a family of grandmother, father, mother and daughter pose in morning coats for a commemorative photograph

What you wish to know	What you will find	Where to go
The experience in detail	The seven elements and the scene for each	Programme
Whether the outfit will fit	What the outfit comprises and a guide to sizes	Wardrobe
The cost	Eight plans from ¥49,800 for three hours, and options	Rates
What the day will be like	The order from arrival to departure	The Day

If anything is unclear, please ask the butler through the Enquiries & Reservations page.

Included in the rate

Full morning-coat outfit
One accompanying butler
Three hours of instruction in deportment
A commemorative photograph in the Manor
One keepsake

Not included in the rate

Meals are not served. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink
For two or more people, please see the pair and family plans

Presence

Deportment means preparing in advance so that another may move at ease

A butler's deportment is not merely a matter of form: it is the conduct of reading the next movement of the person served and quietly arranging the door, the chair, the tea things and one's own position. You test, in your own movements, the gaze and the pauses that the butlers of the Queen's Butler Association hold dear in their work.

There is no need to hurry to look accomplished. The butler gives brief guidance on the position of the hands and the direction of a step, and refines each movement on the spot. In the final photograph, you should feel a stance different from your first bow.

When offering tea, the direction of the cup follows where the other's hand will reach. When opening a door, the way is cleared before the bow. Because the butler puts into words not only the order but why one stands where one does, you can connect your own movement with how it appears to another.

See the seven elements

In the Study, the butler shows a woman apprentice in her fifties the posture for writing a letter with a fountain pen

QCan I take part with no experience?

Yes. The butler accompanies you from arrival to departure, guiding you through the outfit and each element in turn. There is nothing you need to be able to do beforehand.

QCan women apply?

Yes. Anyone may apply, whatever their gender. Smaller outfits for women are available; please tell us your height, build and shoe size in advance.

QWhat should I bring?

The full outfit is provided by the Manor, so nothing in particular is needed. We ask your height, build and shoe size when you apply.

QCan two or more of us take part?

For two or more people, please see the pair and family plans (¥89,800 for two, ¥128,800 for three, ¥159,800 for four). As styles and sizes are limited, we confirm the number of people and everyone's sizes before advising.

QWill photographs be taken?

Yes. The butler photographs you in the Manor, dressed in the morning coat. The commemorative photograph is included in the three-hour experience.

QAre meals served?

No meals are served. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink if needed.

Queen's Butler

Your time as an apprentice butler begins at the door of the Manor

In The Footman at Queen's Butler, the butler bows at the door and guides your change from everyday clothes into a morning coat. Please receive the wearing of the outfit and the act of standing for another as a single three hours.

The butlers of the Queen's Butler Association, which runs Queen's Butler, put into words the stride, hands and gaze they observe in their work. You touch on judgements that dress alone cannot show, and the butler remains at your side through the final photograph and the keepsake.