HATS off to THE SEASON... to SEE and BE SEEN

Centuries after it started, the energy and excitement of London’s society scene remains, with an undeniable magic in the air at this time of year. With Corinthia London perfectly placed for prime people-watching during the annual social whirl, here we celebrate the season’s fascinating origins – and why it still dazzles today

The annual get-together for the great and the good was once formal and ordered, with everything done just so. Schedules were printed, notices sent to newspapers and households uprooted.

As Philippa Pullar describes in her book Gilded Butterflies: The Rise and Fall of the London Season:

“Like the spring, the season returned each year… entire households would travel to London from all corners of Britain. The carriages, the coachmen, grooms, footmen, butlers, head housekeepers and their minions would come up from the country.”

Then, like clockwork, on 1 May, the season burst into bloom:

“The houses of Mayfair and Belgravia would be freshly painted, [their] window-boxes filled with flowers…”

London was alive with new sounds and riotous colours, with young women striding out in their finery – chaperones in tow – looking for the next big thing.

Today, there are considerably more Ubers around than footmen – but the season remains very much intact. It has simply evolved as the world around it has changed.

THE JEWEL IN LONDON'S CROWN

Nowadays, no grand Mayfair mansion is required, thanks to Corinthia London, whose golden location puts it in pole position for discerning individuals hoping to see and be seen, a magnificent home from home for visitors determined to be part of the social whirl.

Afternoon tea at the hotel, though no longer bound by the customs and rigid formality of yesteryear, is still an enjoyable excuse to dress up and be transported into a world of timeless elegance.

Served in the Crystal Moon Lounge, delectable sweet and savoury treats take centre stage beneath the glow of that famous Baccarat-crystal chandelier, continuing the glamorous aesthetic of 1800s society London tea parties.

What we might recognise as the season was, like so many aspects of British life, encouraged by 18th-century aristocratic society's interest in having a good time. They were already suitably preoccupied in the country with the rigid fieldsports calendar – hunting, shooting and fishing – but “town”, or rather London, increasingly had plenty to offer, encouraged by the merry Georgian monarchs.

And so up they would come from the country to London, renting houses – at great expense if they didn't have their own – and generally having a whale of a time drinking, eating and gambling.

As Sophie Campbell describes in her 2013 book The Season:

“On to the sporting calendar was grafted a new round of social imperatives: pleasure gardens, regattas, race meetings and balls.”

The old season had two purposes. The first was to see and be seen – to show off your townhouse and parade your jewels. The second was less palatable to our modern tastes: to parade your daughters, too, and find them a good marriage.

For the latter, events centred around court and the presenting of daughters to the monarch, with the hope that, soon after, they might attract a suitable young man with whom they could live happily ever after – or, at least, happily enough to produce the required heir and spare.

Debutantes continued to be presented at court until 1958 when the royal family finally put a stop to it, Princess Margaret having declared it “naff”.

DAZZLING DEBUTANTES

Even without court presentations there was still plenty for young “gels” to do – not least to partake in Queen Charlotte’s Ball. Founded by George III in 1780 to mark his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s birthday, this event quickly became a fulcrum of the season.

Even into the mid-20th century, the debutante season – which attached itself nicely to the wider social season – bounced along in a jolly rhythm of balls and private dances, lunches and tea parties.

As one 1970s participant remembers:

“It was very structured – the Berkeley Dress Show at the beginning of April, Queen Charlotte’s in May and then the Caledonian Ball [a much-anticipated gathering of Scots south of the border, first held in 1822].”

Sometimes girls would share a cocktail party at 30 Pavilion Road in Chelsea – a coveted address for hosting society functions – and then over the weekends there would be house parties:

“You might go to one in Berkshire on the Friday night and then drive on to Hampshire on the Saturday night. It was a full-time job, if you were doing it properly.”

After that, came Glorious Goodwood for the racing – established in 1802 by the third Duke of Richmond at the picturesque eponymous racecourse high on the Sussex Downs with views overlooking the English Channel.

It was followed by events further afield, including Cowes on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast, for the sailing.

As former debutante Fiona MacCarthy put it about the mid-century, back then:

“No one would have been seen dead in London after Goodwood”.

MODERN BELLES OF THE BALL

Now that most young women leaving school go to work, to university or on a gap year instead of spending a year trying to find a “nice chap” at a party in the Home Counties, the debutante scene has largely fallen by the wayside.

The Royal Caledonian Ball remains, as does Queen Charlotte’s Ball – but with a facelift.

Re-established in 2009, with debutantes resplendent in white ballgowns but with the lavish ceremony heralding a year of charity work – the modern event continues in early September at One Whitehall Place, a prestigious members club dating from 1884, with tickets by personal invitation only.

It attracts participants from around the world – not looking for husbands but for life experience, the candidates now bankers and lawyers keen on charitable works rather than the undereducated daughters of dukes.

Beyond the curtseys, the rest of the modern season remains in full flow – if anything, it has got even bigger, faster and more expensive. The traditional events of the old season now come with corporate sponsors, but one expectation remains: that those in attendance should look nothing less than completely fabulous.

THE ORIGINAL INFLUENCERS

In the early 20th century it was common for newspapers to produce detailed reports of the fashion choices of upper-class women attending these events, as a column in The Times, describing Gold Cup day at Ascot 1932, shows:

“Some very beautiful dresses were worn, those of real garden-party type being particularly numerous, more especially those of delicately coloured flowered and patterned chiffons,” it declared.

It was therefore a showcase for aristocratic women in their prime, among them the Marchioness of Milford Haven, her “yellow chiffon dress with a pattern of wild flowers” complementing “her simple cream straw hat”.

What Lady Milford Haven and her peers would have made of Instagram can only be imagined – but they were the original influencers.

When Margaret Whigham, the future Duchess of Argyll and Deb of the Year in 1930, fell ill with pneumonia in 1934, news of her indisposition was front-page news.

Five years later, after her marriage to an American socialite, Tatler described how “no Ascot could possibly be convicted of being down if Mrs Charles Sweeny was there.”

It was all part and parcel of the season.

Today, the aristocracy has been eclipsed almost entirely by the new celebrity class and, for the most part, finds it far too impractical to keep up houses in both town and country.

But the season goes on.

AND SO, IT BEGINS…

It begins with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May, a colourful event at historic Royal Hospital Chelsea, founded by King Charles II in 1682 for retired British Army soldiers, still known today as Chelsea Pensioners and a rival for the blooms on display with their scarlet tunics.

It’s a Victorian invention, like so many events. But at least two earlier exceptions can be found, even on the modern calendar: racing at Cheltenham in March, in the spa town where George III went to take the cure in 1788 and was shortly followed by half of society; then the rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge universities, staged every year since 1856 and now sponsored by one of the world’s hautest fashion houses, renamed the Chanel J12 Boat Race.

Once Chelsea arrives, the season is in full swing.

Thereafter follows the start of Glyndebourne, the open-air opera festival in East Sussex which has staged spectacular performances and grand picnics in its 12 acres of gardens from May to August since 1934.

And there’s more.

The Betfred Derby at Epsom racecourse in June, the most prestigious of the five classic races, was founded in 1779 by Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby.

After that comes the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the world’s oldest open-submission contemporary art show, held annually since 1769 on London’s Piccadilly from mid-June to late August.

Racing at Royal Ascot follows in mid-June.

Corinthia London makes a wonderful rest stop for post-race debriefs over cocktails at Velvet by Salvatore Calabrese, and you’ll enjoy spotting the stylish hats on racegoers as they make their grand entrance – many clearly from the world’s oldest headwear outfitter, Lock & Co. Hatters, a royal warrant holder, no less.

Tennis at Wimbledon is next, now patronised by the Princess of Wales, before Henley Royal Regatta, the world’s most prestigious rowing tournament, dating back to 1839, and next, the Cartier Queen’s Cup at Guards Polo Club in Windsor.

In late July it’s the Qatar Goodwood Festival – five days of flat-racing known as Glorious Goodwood, on the Duke of Richmond’s estate in West Sussex which also hosts prestigious motor racing events.

It finally ends, with a splash, with Cowes Week, the sailing regatta on the Isle of Wight, this year celebrating its 200th anniversary.

MORE IS MOST DEFINITELY MORE

If you’re not into racing there’s still plenty to entertain.

Check out a chukka or two at Polo in the Park, an elegantly fun event held at the park next door to the ultra-exclusive Hurlingham Club in Fulham where the Prince and Princess of Wales are members.

Love tennis?

There’s The Boodles at Stoke Park near Maidenhead, west of London, plus Wimbledon warm-ups at the Giorgio Armani Classic at the Hurlingham Club and the HSBC Championships at the stately Queen’s Club, in nearby leafy West Kensington.

In need of a day off?

Cool down by pedaloing on the Serpentine in leafy Hyde Park, or stroll through the Tate Modern’s awe-inspiring industrial interior – with its major Tracey Emin retrospective on until 31 August 2026.

Then picnic by the Thames: head down to the foreshore when the tide is out and marvel at the best view in London – with Tower Bridge one way and St Paul’s Cathedral the other.

It’s a lovely way to take in London’s calm, even while the season is still in full, frenetic swing.

Doing the season in its entirety while writing her book, Sophie Campbell found herself exhausted – but inspired, nevertheless.

“Perhaps its greatest glory is its brevity, the fact that it blooms joyously and dies back for another year: marking the passing of another English Summer…” she reflected, adding:

“In a funny way, the season belongs to everyone.”

At Corinthia London, it belongs to you, too.

Heirs and Graces: A History of the Modern British Aristocracy by Eleanor Doughty is published by Hutchinson.