Information Pack - Hampshire Regency Dancers

Grand Celebration Ball
The Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Saturday, 3 September 2016
rd
Information Pack
Edition 1
Organised by:
The Royal Pavilion, Brighton England, BN1 1EE
www.brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion
In association with the Hampshire Regency Dancers
The Venue
The Royal Pavilion is an exotic world famous palace in the heart of Brighton’s Cultural Quarter
with a colourful history. It is perhaps the most iconic Regency building in the United Kingdom
and was built in three stages from 1787. It was formerly the seaside pleasure palace for George
Prince of Wales, who became Prince Regent in 1811, a role he fulfilled until 1820 when he became
King. It has an Indian appearance on the outside and an opulent interior heavily influenced by
the Chinese style which became fashionable during the mid- Georgian period and then revived
by George in the early 19th century.
The Prince Regent would often entertain royalty and high society at this palace in the elegant
fashion with which he became synonymous. A simply perfect setting for the Grand Celebration
Ball in honour of the marriage of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales and Prince Leopold of
Saxe Coburg-Saalfeld.
For more information about the Royal Pavilion visit www.brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion
The State Music Room where the Ball is to be held
Royal Pavilion Membership costs from £20.00 per year and entitles members to a range of
benefits including discounts on all events visit www.pavilionfoundation.org or call 01273 295898
for more information.
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales & Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (7 January 1796 – 6 November 1817) was the only child of
George and Caroline of Brunswick. Had she outlived both her grandfather King George III and her
father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom.
Charlotte's parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated.
The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte's care to governesses and servants and only allowed
her limited contact with her mother the Princess of Wales. Charlotte spent some of her childhood
with her father at the Royal Pavilion.
Charlotte grew to adulthood and her father pressured her to marry William, Prince of Orange
(later King of the Netherlands), but after initially accepting him, Charlotte soon broke off the intended match. This resulted in an extended contest of wills between her and her father, and finally
the Prince of Wales permitted her to marry Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later King of
the Belgians). Theirs, unusually for this period and their status, was a true love match but after a
year and a half of a happy marriage Charlotte tragically died after giving birth to their stillborn
son.
The Ball
Entry to the Pavilion for the Ball will be through the palace’s main entrance.
Music will be provided by Green Ginger and Mistress of the Dance will be Mrs Sally Petchey.
Reception (including welcome drink):
6.30pm PROMPT
The ball commences:
7.00pm until 8.30pm
Banquet commences:
8.30pm until 10.00pm
Dancing re-commences:
10.00pm
Carriages:
11.30pm
The State Banqueting Room where guests will dine
Tickets
Banqueting Room £100 per guest
Great Kitchen £80 per guest
How to book:
Tel UK: 03000 290 902
From Overseas: +44 (0)1273 292 773
You can by tickets by telephoning the Royal Pavilion’s Events Booking Line (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
on the numbers listed above. You can also email [email protected] if you
have any queries.
Payment can be made by credit/debit card; e-tickets will be issued by email and must be
produced at the main entrance in order to gain entry to the ball.
A £1.50 admin fee will apply per booking and tickets cannot be reserved without full payment.
Refunds will only be given if your ticket/s can be sold to another on a waiting list.
Your ticket price also includes:
A dance workshop during the afternoon of the ball at the Brighthelm Centre.
This is approximately a 6 minute walk away from the Royal Pavilion Estate and Brighton railway
station respectively.

Welcome drink: a glass of prosecco or soft drink
Two-course Regency style banquet including a free glass of wine or soft drink and coffee;
a cash bar will be available to purchase additional drinks.

On the Sunday following the ball:

½ price entry to the Royal Pavilion

A 10% discount in the Royal Pavilion’s tearoom

Free entry to the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

The option to purchase tickets in advance to the Sunday evening performance of An Evening
with Jane Austen starring Adrian Lukis (the infamous Mr Wickham in the BBC’s acclaimed
1995 production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’) and Caroline Langrishe. Please find details below.
Tickets can be purchased at the same time as booking of the ball or independently of the
ball. These tickets are currently not on sale to the general public and will go on open sale in
February.
An Evening with Jane Austen has been
performed to sell-out audiences at the
Masonic Hall and Assembly Rooms in
Bath and most recently at Godmersham
Park, the former home of Jane’s brother.
Ball Information
The following section contains information relating to the ball and daytime workshop. If you
have any questions or queries on the workshop, ball attire or the evening’s dance programme
please contact the Hampshire Regency Dancers. If you have any questions or queries regarding
the menu, photography, the changing room facility or restrictions please contact the Visitor
Services Team of the Royal Pavilion.
Ball Welcome Drink
A free glass of prosecco or a soft drink will be served in the Banqueting Room. Water will be
available throughout the evening in restricted areas.
Ball Banquet Menu
Following payment of your ball ticket/s you will be emailed, by the Royal Pavilion’s booking
office, the menu and a food choices form on which you are to state your main course choices
and your guests full names. If any of your party have any food allergies or intolerances this is
to be stated on your food choices form.
Reception Drink
A glass of prosecco or a soft drink
Dinner Menu
A glass of wine or a soft drink
Main Course
A choice of either dish:
Braised leg of Barbary duck, Pomme
Anna, juniper and madeira jus and black cabbage
Wild mushroom and celeriac remoulade pie and black cabbage (v)

Dessert
Wild berry Regency 'Whim Wham' trifle

French presse coffee
Vegetarian (v)
Some of the above dishes may contain nuts.
If you have any food allergies or intolerances please inform us in advance
This menu may be subject to change.
All guests will be informed in advance of any changes.
Dance Cards
Dance cards will be handed out either at the workshop or upon entry to the ball. Your dance
card will include your table number for dinner. Guests will have the freedom to wander about
the extensive Regency rooms on the ground floor of the Royal Pavilion.
Ball Attire
Strictly Regency period costume to be worn. Flat shoes only to be worn; ballet or jazz shoes
are ideal. Gentlemen may wear appropriate military attire but not boots. There are a number
of internet sites which provide guidance on Ball dress, dances and etiquette during the Regency
period. Photographs of typical Regency dress and information about making and hiring
costume are included in the following websites:
www.hrd.org.uk
www.regencydances.org/costume1.php
www.janeausten.co.uk/online-magazine/regency-fashion
www.stichtingreverence.nl/terug-in-de-tijd/galerij
Regency Dance Workshop
This will be held at the Brighthelm Centre starting at 2.00pm until 3.30pm; doors will be open
from 1.45pm. The cost of this workshop is included in your ticket. If you are not an experienced
Regency dancer we strongly recommend that you take advantage of the workshop where a
number of the dances will be practised. Dress for the workshop is modern day wear; flat shoes
should be worn.
Hampshire Regency Dancers will be running an extra workshop during July or August at a venue
in Hampshire. Details will be advised in due course and obtained from HRD at [email protected].
Details of the dance programme will be published in advance of the Ball.
Changing Room
For those travelling to Brighton who wish to change into their ball finery, communal changing
facilities will be provided in the Pavilion’s Band Room which is accessed by a separate door in the
palace’s grounds. Access to the changing area will be from 6.00pm. Once changed guests will
leave via the outer door of the Band Room and walk alongside the building to gain entry to the
ball via the Pavilion’s Main Entrance. The Band Room will be locked throughout the Ball and reopened at 11.30pm.
At the ball dancing will take place in the palace’s Music Room which is carpeted.
Photography
The taking of photographs and videos is not normally permitted within the Royal Pavilion. However, for this event, photography and videography will be allowed PROVIDED the images contain
people and are not images exclusively of the rooms or of artefacts and are for personal use only.
Restrictions
Please be aware that as a heritage building it contains many priceless artefacts including wall
hangings etc., there will some restrictions to access within the palace, and to eating and drinking
in most of the rooms. A separate note about these restrictions will be issued in advance of the
ball.
Sun 4thSeptember 2016, An Evening with Jane Austen
Venue: Music Room, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Evening performance: Performance start time tbc
Ticket Price: £32.50 - Includes an interval glass of wine or soft drink in the dazzling State
Banqueting Room
VIP Meet the Performers Ticket Price: £40.00 - Following the performance meet Adrian Lukis
and Caroline Langrishe over a glass of sparkling wine in the exquisite Red Drawing Room.
Reserved VIP seating for the performance.
How to book:
Tel UK: 03000 290 902
From Overseas: +44 (0)1273 292 773
You can by tickets by telephoning the Royal Pavilion’s Events Booking Line (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
on the numbers listed above. You can also email [email protected] if you
have any queries.
Payment can be made by credit/debit card via email or telephone; e-tickets will be issued by
email and must be produced at the main entrance in order to gain entry to the performance.
Photograph courtesy of the Jane Austen Festival and Owen Benson
Spend a magical evening in the company of Jane Austen’s most memorable characters from
the comic absurdity of the Dashwoods, to the heartfelt passion of Wentworth and Anne, not to
mention the charming duplicity of the notorious Mr. Wickham.
Performing duologues from Jane’s iconic novels, Caroline Langrishe (Judge John Deed, Lovejoy)
and Adrian Lukis (Pride and Prejudice, Peak Practice, the Old Vic, the National Theatre) bring
Jane's timeless writing effortlessly to life. Musical accompaniment from harpist, Camilla Pay, and
soprano, Rosie Lomas, recreates the sounds of the Regency era and perfectly evokes the glittering
entertainment of the Prince Regent’s legendary court.
Accommodation
Brighton is a seaside town with many attractions, although as September is towards the end of
the holiday season accommodation is still in demand so early booking is advised.
VisitBrighton will be able to help with hotel and guest house bookings with information on a wide
range of accommodation in the area of Royal Pavilion. Hostel accommodation is readily available
in Brighton – check out the Hostelbookers website for more details.
www.visitbrighton.com/accommodation
www.hostelbookers.com
Tel: +44 (0)1273 290 337
Tel: +353 (0) 1 5245800
Travelling to Brighton
By Road: Brighton is on the South Coast of England; major road routes into Brighton are the A27
(whether travelling from the East or the West) and A23/M23 south travelling from London.
By Rail: Direct rail routes from London Victoria, London Thameslink and the Eurostar service at
St Pancras (approximately one hour) and London Gatwick Airport (half an hour).
By Sea: It is also easily accessible from the ports of Dover, Portsmouth, Southampton and the local
port of Newhaven.
By Air: Gatwick Airport is a 1/2 hour drive or train journey to Brighton. Heathrow Airport is a 1
1/2 hour drive to Brighton.
By Coach: National Express coaches regularly service the city from the main London airports of
Gatwick and Heathrow and from London Victoria along with many other cities throughout the UK.
www.nationalexpress.com
Tel: 0871 781 8181
Details of car parking in Brighton can be found on the Hampshire Regency Dancers website
www.hrd.org.uk.
Further Information to Follow
There are a number of items /activities still to be finalised. Additional information will be posted
on the Hampshire Regency Dancers website and Facebook page.
Further information will be sent out to guests in advance of the ball to include:
A map of the area
 Dances
 Suggested activities for Sunday

And Finally…...
We very much look forward to seeing you at the ball…..
The Royal Pavilion
&
the Hampshire Regency Dancers