The Footman — Day flow

The Apprentice Butler Experience: How the Day Unfolds

From arrival to departure

Queen's Butler — Definition

About The Apprentice Butler Experience: How the Day Unfolds

The day of the Apprentice Butler Experience runs for three hours, beginning with the welcome at the door and moving through dressing, deportment, photographs, the presentation of a keepsake, changing back into your own clothes, and your send-off. One butler accompanies you from beginning to end, leading you from one scene to the next.

Three hours

Three hours unfold in five scenes, from arrival to your send-off

In the dining room, five apprentices of different ages in morning coats practise bowing after the butler

Arrival

Your butler opens the door, bows, and takes your belongings and coat. Once inside the Manor, we briefly ask what you would like from the day.

Dressing

At the wardrobe, the coat, waistcoat, shirt, tie, white gloves and shoes are put on in order. Your butler checks the collar and the line of the whole figure in the mirror.

Deportment

Posture, walking and the distance at which to wait are practised. Your butler stands beside you and shows the position that does not obstruct the lady you serve's path.

The bow

Turning to face the other person, pausing, inclining the upper body and returning: the angle and the timing are joined together. You compare your own movement with the butler's bow.

Tea

Warming the pot, measuring, pouring and offering. At a table with a three-tier stand, you check the orientation of the cup and the speed at which the hand withdraws.

Before

When applying, please let us know your attire and your wishes for the day

In the dining room, an apprentice in her sixties pours tea from a silver pot with the butler's hand guiding hers

Item	What to tell us
Height and build	As a guide, 160–185 cm for men and 150–160 cm for women. Please consult us if outside this range
Shoe size	As a guide, 24.0–27.5 cm. Needed to prepare your attire
Preferred date and time	We take your preference for a three-hour experience
Number of guests	One to four. Pair and family plans are available
What matters most to you	Tell us about deportment, an anniversary, a gift, or the photographs you wish to keep

Arrival

From the bow at the door, three hours unlike any other begin

Arrival is the scene in which you see the first gesture of the Apprentice Butler Experience. Your butler opens the door, clears the way for you and then bows. Receiving your belongings and leading you into the Manor without haste, this movement becomes the model for when you yourself later stand by the door.

Once inside, you check with your butler the attire prepared from your height, build and shoe size. Both men and women serve as our butlers. The butler in charge leads you to the wardrobe and explains the order in which the morning coat and its accompaniments are put on and how each is handled.

If this is your first time, take it slowly until you are used to the weight of the attire and your reflection in the mirror. Your butler checks the collar, the tie, the waistcoat, the single button of the coat, the white gloves and the shoes in turn. Once you are ready, we move on to posture and walking.

At the double doors, an apprentice in her thirties practises opening the door and bowing while the butler watches

Focus

The day's highlights lie in posture, the hands, and the gaze towards the other person

At the wardrobe, apprentices in their twenties, forties and sixties choose morning coats while the butler hangs a jacket

Posture

Seeing your posture from both the mirror and the other person

Even with a straight back, one cannot serve while blocking the way. After settling your shoulders and hands before the mirror, your butler shows from the other side the distance at which to wait.

Smoothing white gloves to the fingertips

Hands

Feeling the weight of each object through white gloves

A teapot, Christofle silver, a tray and a glass each have a different weight and a different place to hold. Rather than moving hastily with the fingertips alone, you decide the role of each hand and where to set the object down before lifting it.

An apprentice butler looking at the other person before offering tea

Gaze

Looking at the other person before and after each gesture

Neither a bow nor service ends with the movement of the body alone. You turn to face the other person, pause, perform the gesture, return, and look at them once more.

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

Pace

The order and timing of the experience are adjusted to how the day goes

Attire	A set that fits you is chosen and put on in order, from collar to shoes
Posture and the bow	Where to stand, how to walk, the angle and the timing are practised together
Tea	Warming, measuring, pouring and offering
Silver and service	Holding silver in white gloves, and handling a tray and glasses
Photographs	You choose the scenes that stayed with you, and your butler arranges your attire and stance
Keepsake	One item is presented to you, such as a pocket watch

Included in the three-hour fee

A full morning coat ensemble
One butler accompanying you throughout
Deportment, the bow, tea, silver and service
Commemorative photographs within the Manor
One keepsake, such as a pocket watch

Not included in the fee

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

Rainy day

Even on a rainy day, your butler carries you from the entrance to the wardrobe

Arriving in the rain means first attending to wet clothes and belongings, then moving calmly on to dressing. Your butler receives you at the entrance and checks what is to be taken. The experience takes place indoors, but if you have concerns about travel or the weather, please consult your butler in advance.

While you change from your own clothes into the morning coat ensemble, your butler tidies the wardrobe and the space around the mirror. Wet items are kept away from the attire, so that you can move comfortably on to handling white gloves and silver. If you have brought food or drink, please tell us on arrival.

Photographs are taken among the furnishings of the Manor. On a day of rain-filtered light, the black coat, white gloves and wooden furnishings show quietly. Your butler judges the light of the day and arranges where you stand, so please tell us freely which gestures and moods you would like to keep.

In the dining room, a mother and son as apprentices lay out silver and porcelain in the order the butler indicates

Farewell

The Apprentice Butler Experience lasts until the final bow

Departure is the scene in which, after the photographs and the keepsake, the attire is carefully returned, your belongings are checked, and your butler sees you to the door. Changing back from the morning coat into your own clothes, the white gloves, tie, waistcoat and coat are removed in order, without haste.

The keepsake is one item, such as a pocket watch. The object in your hand and the photograph of your stance become reminders of the hand that poured the tea and the pause of the bow. Your butler checks that nothing has been left behind and returns your belongings.

Before the door, your butler shows you once more the bow you saw at the beginning of the experience. Having spent three hours discovering not only angle and posture but the meaning of turning your heart to the other person before moving, it should look different from the first time. Please receive it, to the very last bow.

In the fireplace room, an apprentice in his seventies carries tea on a silver tray while a young woman apprentice sits in the role of lady

QWhat should I bring on the day?

The morning coat ensemble is provided at the Manor, so there is no need to bring attire. If you would like to keep photographs on your own phone or camera, please bring what you need. You are also welcome to bring any food or drink you require.

QWhat should I wear?

Please come in your everyday clothes. You change into the morning coat ensemble at the Manor, and your butler helps you dress in order.

QCan I take part on a rainy day?

The experience takes place indoors. Your butler takes your wet clothes and belongings at the entrance, but if you have concerns about travel or the weather, please consult us in advance.

QIs the flow the same for women?

Yes. The order of the experience is the same. Smaller attire is also available, so please include your height, build and shoe size when applying.

QDoes the order change for two or more?

Your butler arranges the day's flow to suit the number of guests and the combination of attire. For two or more, please consult us in advance with everyone's sizes.

QWhen are the photographs taken?

After the attire and gestures have all been practised. We ask which scenes stayed with you, and your butler arranges the coat, white gloves, posture and distance from the furnishings before photographing.

Three moments

The change over three hours can be seen in the mirror, at the table and before the door

In the dining room, a family of grandmother, father, mother and daughter pose in morning coats for a photograph

Mirror

Before the mirror, attire and posture become one

Immediately after dressing at Queen's Butler, you may have your hands full simply following the shape of the attire.

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

Table

At the table, stillness of the hands becomes consideration for the other person

In the tea, silver and service scenes at Queen's Butler, you learn not only what to hold but when to lift it, where to set it down, and when to withdraw the hand.