Burlock, Hillary. "'Tumbling into the lap of Majesty': Minuets at the Court of George III."

Burlock, Hillary. "'Tumbling into the lap of Majesty': Minuets at the Court of George III." Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 44, no. 2 (June 2021): 205-224.

URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1754-0208.12755 (Open Access)

Abstract:
Performance and ritual were central to the functioning of royal courts in the Georgian era. Every year George III held court balls to mark the birthdays of the monarch and consort. The royal birthday ball opened with minuets, a dance that demonstrated grace, ease, politeness, gentility and education. The pressure to perform with grace and accomplishment was immense, as any missteps were eagerly commented on in the press and in correspondence. This article examines the ballroom as an intense emotional space for demonstrating membership of the bon ton.