A white-gloved hand offering a pocket watch

The Footman — For whom

Who the Apprentice Butler Experience Is For

A gift, an anniversary, a longing, a portrait

Queen's Butler — Definition

About Who the Apprentice Butler Experience Is For

The Apprentice Butler Experience suits those who wish to give someone dear a special hour, to keep a record of an anniversary in formal dress, to give shape to a longing to be a butler, or to be photographed in a morning coat. Open to all genders, the three-hour experience is spent with one butler at your side.

Four reasons

A gift, an anniversary, a longing, a portrait: four wishes arranged into three hours

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

Gift

For a gift that words alone cannot convey

To give the Apprentice Butler Experience is to give not an object but three hours: being dressed, standing beside a butler, and touching the movements of the role.

Anniversary

A milestone in unfamiliar dress

On an anniversary, entering the Manor in your everyday clothes and changing into a morning coat is itself the turning of a scene.

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

Longing

For those who wish to stand, for once, on the butler's side

Giving shape to a longing to be a butler means not only wearing formal dress but standing with the next movement of your master or lady in mind.

Adjusting a morning coat before the mirror

Portrait

For those who wish to be photographed in a morning coat

Keeping a photograph means recording not only the finished dress but the bearing settled over three hours. Your butler checks the tails of the coat, the white gloves, your gaze and your distance from the furnishings before the shot.

For everyone

For women and men alike, the experience begins with dress that fits your body

An experience open to all genders does not mean fitting every body to one shape, but choosing the dress that suits you and settling, with your butler, a bearing that is your own. Both male and female butlers are on hand to guide you, step by step, through the order of putting on a morning coat, the position of the tie and the fit of the white gloves.

As a guide, costumes fit men of 160 to 185 cm, women of 150 to 160 cm, and shoes of 24.0 to 27.5 cm. Since height alone cannot tell us how sleeves and shoulders will sit, we also ask about build when you apply. Other sizes may be discussed. Once your butler has checked the costume, we advise you on preparations for the day.

Once dressed, whatever your gender or build, what matters is a position that does not hinder the other person, a quiet bow, and the direction in which a piece is offered. Rather than holding one posture by force, you relax the shoulders and find a way of standing your own body can sustain. Your butler shows you both the shape in the mirror and how it appears to the one you serve.

In the Dining Room, a mother and son as apprentices lay silver and porcelain in the order the butler points out

Choose

Choose the highlights of your three hours from what matters most to you

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

What matters	The scene to watch for	What to tell us in advance
A gift	The moment the costume is first seen, and the presenting of the keepsake	The recipient's height, build and shoe size
An anniversary	The change from dressing to a settled bearing	The feeling you wish to keep, and your preferred date and time
A longing to be a butler	The butler's judgement in position, angle and pause	The parts of the experience you most wish to touch
A portrait	Morning coat, white gloves and the Manor's furnishings together	The look or scene you wish to keep

Whatever your purpose, three hours for one guest at 49,800 yen (tax included) covers the costume, the experience of deportment, a commemorative portrait and one keepsake.

Gift planning

When choosing it as a gift, balance the surprise with preparing the costume

In the Fireplace Room, a son in his thirties, as an apprentice, presents a gift to his mother while the butler looks on

Decide what you wish to give

A longing to be a butler, a milestone, or the wish for them to have a photograph: consider the experience you want to convey.

Confirm the sizes

To prepare the costume we need height, build and shoe size. Even if you wish to keep the surprise, please confirm these three.

Tell us the date, time and number

Please give the recipient's preferred date and time and the number of guests. For two or more we confirm the combination of costumes.

Your butler checks the costume

We check against the guide of men 160 to 185 cm, women 150 to 160 cm and shoes 24.0 to 27.5 cm, and discuss other sizes.

Arranging the welcome on the day

Knowing whether the booking comes from the recipient or as a gift, your butler leads from the welcome at the door into dressing.

Anniversary

An anniversary is a day remembered from before the change of dress to after

An anniversary in the Apprentice Butler Experience is a milestone that keeps not only the finished photograph but the whole passage: entering the door, changing from everyday clothes into a morning coat, and bowing again and again. Your butler does not hurry to correct your first posture, but gives you time to grow used to the dress in the mirror.

In the Wardrobe, each button, the waistcoat, the tie, the white gloves and the shoes are put on in turn. In the Dining Room you reach for tea and silver; in the corridor you find the distance at which to wait. When you stand in the same place for the final portrait, you see a line of the shoulders and a gaze different from when you arrived.

Choose the scene of your commemorative portrait from the movements that stayed with you that day. Your butler arranges the distance to the furnishings, the line of the costume and your hands before the shot. A keepsake, chosen from items such as a pocket watch, is presented, and you are seen off at the door.

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

At the double doors, a female apprentice in her thirties practises opening the door and bowing while the butler looks on

Compare

Alone or with others, the experience shows a different face

Alone	Face to face with your butler, you can calmly check your posture, hands and walk
Two or more	You can see the gaze of both the one who serves and the one served. Costumes must be discussed in advance
Gender	All are welcome to apply. Male and female butlers are on hand
Costume	As a guide: men 160 to 185 cm, women 150 to 160 cm, shoes 24.0 to 27.5 cm
What to bring	A full costume is provided. Please tell us your height, build and shoe size in advance
Meals	No meals are served. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink

What the gift price includes

A full morning coat outfit
One butler at your side
A three-hour experience
A commemorative portrait in the Manor
One keepsake, such as a pocket watch

What the price does not include

No meals are served. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink
For two or more guests, please see the pair and family plans

Longing

A longing to be a butler becomes the practice of watching another

A longing to be a butler is not only the wish to wear a morning coat, but the wish to know why that person makes no sound, why they stand a little apart, why they pause before a bow. A Queen's Butler butler stays at your side and shows you, through your own movements, the hands and direction of the person they are watching in the moment.

When pouring tea, you look not only at the cup but at where your master or lady can reach. When opening a door, you clear the way first; after a bow, you straighten and then turn your eyes to the other person once more. Behind each quiet movement is a reason: not to hurry the other, not to hinder their next step.

Male and female butlers each have a bearing suited to their own body and voice. We value a mind centred on the person before you over an identical form. Even on a first visit, your butler arranges each scene one at a time, so please come through the door without worrying whether you can do it.

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

Portrait

For those who want a photograph, everything from dressing to the bow leads to the shot

A photograph of the Apprentice Butler Experience keeps not only the figure in a morning coat but the position, hands and gaze that come after touching the butler's movements, set among the Manor's furnishings. Your butler does not straighten the costume only before the shot, but watches the line of the coat and the fit of the white gloves from the moment you dress.

In deportment we check the line of the back and the distance at which to wait; in bowing, the angle and the pause; with tea and silver, the direction of the fingertips. Which scene moves you is your own. From holding a door, holding a teapot, or standing with silver in hand, tell your butler the scene you wish to keep.

Before the shot, your butler checks once more the tails of the coat, the waistcoat, the tie, the white gloves and the shoes. Beyond a single frontal image, we choose a bearing that conveys the day's movements and arrange your distance from the furnishings. After the shoot, you change back into your own clothes and receive one keepsake, chosen from items such as a pocket watch.

About the commemorative portrait

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

Before the day

Three guides that settle your worries in advance

A butler adjusting the collar of a morning coat

Clothing

Know the order of dressing first

The morning coat prepared at Queen's Butler is not simply a coat thrown over your clothes.

A butler receiving guests at the Manor's entrance

Items

Know what to bring and what follows arrival

Queen's Butler provides the full costume at the Manor. Tell us your height, build and shoe size in advance, and come on the day in your everyday clothes.

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

Gloves

Know the meaning of the white gloves

White gloves not only complete the dress but make you conscious of hands that treat silver with care. Fitted to the fingertips, smoothed of creases, held so as to leave no print on the Christofle.

QCan I book it as a gift?

Yes. Please tell your butler the recipient's height, build and shoe size, and the preferred date and time. We check the costume and arrange the welcome on the day.

QCan I prepare it without the recipient knowing?

To prepare the costume we need the participant's height, build and shoe size. Even if you wish to keep the surprise, please confirm the sizes in advance.

QCan women take part?

Yes. We have smaller costumes for women. Both male and female butlers are on hand, so please tell us any preference when applying.

QWill I enjoy it if I book alone?

Yes. One butler stays with you for three hours, so you can calmly check your own posture and hands. Your butler also takes the commemorative portrait.

QCan two or more of us take part on the same day?

For two or more guests, please see the pair and family plans (two guests 89,800 yen, three 128,800 yen, four 159,800 yen). As costume types and sizes are limited, we confirm the number and everyone's sizes before advising.

QCan the photograph be the main purpose?

The commemorative portrait is included. After touching the movements, tell us the scene that stayed with you, and your butler arranges costume, posture and hands for the shot.