A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning

monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commissioned theatrical performances, the first Royal Command Performance to bear that name was staged at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

in 1848 by order of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. From then on, command performances were frequently staged, often calling upon the leading actors from the London theatres, until the death of Prince Albert in 1861. There were no further command performances until they recommenced in 1881. These included plays, revues, comic operas and other musical theatre.

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

called for several performances each year. In 1911 a Great "Gala" performance was given by the theatrical profession at His Majesty's Theatre in London in celebration of the

coronation of King George V The coronation of George V and his wife Mary as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India, took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This was the second of ...

. In 1912, George V and Queen Mary attended an all-star Royal Command Performance at London's

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

in aid of the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, and the following year it was decided to make the evening an annual event. 1919 saw the first event to be named the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

, and a variety of entertainment, including music (of all genres), comedy, dance, music-hall and speciality acts were included. The monarch or a senior member of the British Royal attends the event each year, and the event continues as a fundraiser for the Royal Variety Charity. The Royal Variety Performance attracts over 150 million worldwide television viewers annually.

Early history

As long as there has been a monarchy, kings and queens have maintained minstrels and jesters to entertain their courts, and these performances could be called "command performances".Gillan, Don
A History of the Royal Command Performance
StageBeauty.net, accessed 16 June 2009 The history of the command performance as we recognise it today dates back at least to the time of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, during whose reign the first permanent theatre was built. In addition, Elizabeth built her own theatre where she could watch plays performed by her own company of players. This was formed in 1583 by

Edmund Tilney Sir Edmund Tilney or Tylney (1536–1610) was a courtier best known now as Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth and King James. He was responsible for the censorship of drama in England. He was also instrumental in the development of English ...

, the then Master of the Revels, and was known as ''

Queen Elizabeth's Men Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and the ...

''. Later British monarchs continued the tradition of sponsoring their own theatrical companies until the dissolution of the monarchy, with its subsequent abolition of the theatre, during the Protectorship of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

. The restoration of the monarchy following the death of Cromwell also resulted in the restoration of the relationship between the monarch and theatre.

Modern British command performances

At the beginning of

's reign in 1837 the command performance was an established part of Britain’s theatrical life. The first Royal Command Performance as we know it today is generally accepted to have been that staged at

on 28 December 1848 by order of Queen Victoria. The play was ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'', and the cast included Mr and Mrs Charles Kean, Mr and Mrs Keeley, Henry Lowe, Leigh Murray and Alfred Wigan. From then on, command performances were frequently staged, often calling upon the leading actors from the London theatres and their supporting casts, until the death of Prince Albert in December 1861. There were no further command performances until they recommenced on 4 October 1881 with a production of Burnand's '' The Colonel''. Queen Victoria called for a command performance of W. S. Gilbert's play '' Sweethearts'' (together with ''Uncle's Will'') on 1 February 1887, starring Mr and Mrs Kendal. The great Shakespearean actors

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ...

and Ellen Terry performed for the Queen in 1889 and 1893. In 1891, the Queen enjoyed two performances by the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operas, namely '' The Gondoliers'' on 6 March 1891 at Windsor Castle and ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the ...

'' on 4 September 1891 at Balmoral. Performances of operas by the Royal Opera Company and the Carl Rosa Opera Company were given on several occasions in the 1890s for Victoria. On 21 July 1896 the first Royal Command Film Performance was held at Marlborough House. The film showed the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

and

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was fi ...

visiting the Cardiff Exhibition. When Birt Acres, the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, requested permission to show the film to the general public the Prince asked to see it himself before agreeing. The film was screened before forty royal guests in a specially erected marquee along with a collection of other short films.

called for several performances per year. These included '' Quality Street'' by the company of husband and wife stars Ellaline Terriss and

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

and plays by Sir Charles Wyndham's company and

Arthur Bourchier Arthur Bourchier (22 June 186314 September 1927) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh. Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly William S ...

's company.

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...

's company played for both Victoria and Edward during their respective reigns. On 27 June 1911 a Great 'Gala' performance was given by the theatrical profession at His Majesty's Theatre in London in celebration of the

. The proceeds from this event were used to found the 'King George's Pension Fund for Actors and Actresses'. A second Royal Command Performance was held on 1 July 1912, featuring many of the leading stars of the theatre and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

s, in aid of the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, now the

Royal Variety Charity The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, London, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly. The cha ...

. From 1913, it was decided to make this a regular annual 'all-star' event to continue contributing to the fund. The 1913 show was a production of the Dion Boucicault comedy '' London Assurance'' at St James's Theatre on 27 June 1913 and raised £1,093. These events are now called

s. 1919 saw the first event to be named the

. The reason for the name change followed desire from

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

that the show should 'clearly reflect all areas of show business popular amongst the masses of the time'. Hence, a variety of entertainment, including music (of all genres), comedy, dance, music-hall and speciality acts, rather than for it be incorrectly perceived as one reflecting the Royal Family's own specific choice of artistes. King George V became patron of the Royal Variety Charity in 1921 and decreed that the monarch or a senior member of the British Royal family would attend an annual event in aid of the Royal Variety Charity and its care home for elderly entertainers,

Brinsworth House Brinsworth House is a residential and nursing retirement home for theatre and entertainment professionals in Staines Road, Twickenham, west London, England. The house is owned and run by the Royal Variety Charity and has 36 bedrooms, six livin ...

, once a year thereafter. This tradition and fundraising event for the Royal Variety Charity, continues to the present day, with the Royal Variety Performance now attracting over 150 million worldwide television viewers, making it the longest running and most successful entertainment show in the world.

References

External links

First Royal Command Performance
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 1 December 1901 *De Cordova, Rudolph

reprinted from ''Every Woman's Encyclopaedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Command Performance Theatrical genres Theatre patrons British monarchy Entertainment in the United Kingdom Theatre in the United Kingdom

Early history

Modern British command performances

See also

References

External links