Diplomatic Ceremonial for the Reception of British Envoy’s Sister at the Court of Catherine II

Abstract

Referring to relevant approaches of New Diplomatic History, this article looks into a ceremonial reception for the British envoy’s sister by a Russian court. Although the procedure for introducing diplomatic spouses to European monarchs in the eighteenth century has been studied in depth, the issue of resolving ceremonial disputes remains unanswered. The case of arrival of James Harris together with his wife and sister in Russia in 1777 invites us to re-examine women’s participation in diplomatic ceremonies at the Russian Imperial Court. Miss Harris, not being de juro an official member of the diplomatic corps (that is, neither wife nor daughter of a designated male), de facto was an agent of diplomatic action. She was presented to the Russian court, thought accepted rules did not allow unmarried women to attend court functions. This article draws on a set of archival unpublished diaries of Katherine Harris which are devoted to court presentations and rituals as well as miss Harris’s assessment of courtiers and Russian noble society. The article concludes that, contrary to popular opinion, diplomatic protocol at Catherinian court was flexible. So, despite the prohibition for unmarried women to enter the palace, the imperial court greeted Katherine Harris as an ambassadress. Meanwhile, Catherine II perceived some rituals as an indispensable prerequisite (for example, the kissing of the sovereign’s hands).