Privilège du blanc

Le Privilège du Blanc (pronounced [lə pʁivilɛʒ dy blɑ̃], (English: “The Privilege of the White”) is a traditionalist custom of the Roman Catholic Church that indulges designated female royalty to wear white clothing (traditionally a white dress and white veil) during an audience with the Pope,^[1] an exception to the traditional requirement (presently optional) of women ordinarily wearing black garments on such occasions.

History

Traditionally, the protocol for papal audiences required women to wear a long black garment with long sleeves, and a black veil, the colour of which signified the virtues of both piety and humility. The queens of Italy, Belgium and Spain^[2] were exempt from this rule, as were the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, at one point, the Grand Archduchesses of Austria, and the princesses of the House of Savoy.

Those who are at present permitted to wear white garments include the Queens of Spain and Belgium, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, the Princess of Naples of Savoy and the Princess of Monaco, in summary those royal houses whose regents had been given the title of "Most Catholic Majesty" (Latin: Summa Rex Catholicissimus Maiestatis).^{[citation needed]}

The protocol for papal audiences formerly required that women wear a long black dress with a high collar and long sleeves, and a black mantilla.^[3]^[4] Certain designated Catholic queens and princesses have nonetheless traditionally been exempted from wearing black garments. They are also at liberty to choose when to exercise the privilege, or “decline” them at will.

The privilege is not used by the wives of all Catholic monarchs or by the Catholic wives of non-Catholic monarchs. Even though they are Catholics, it is not accorded to the Queen of Lesotho or the Princess of Liechtenstein.^[5] It is also not accorded to the wife of a male President of France, even though the French President is ex-officio Co-Prince of Andorra. The privilege is also not accorded to Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who is the Catholic wife of the Protestant King Willem-Alexander; nor to Katharine, Duchess of Kent, Princess Michael of Kent, or Sylvana, Lady Countess of Saint Andrews, who are the living senior Catholic members of the Protestant British royal family.^{[citation needed]}

List of eligibility

The following living royal women are currently eligible for the privilege:^{[citation needed]}

Catholic Sovereign	on the occasion of
Queen Sofía of Spain	accession of husband to the Spanish throne (1975)
Queen Paola of Belgium	accession of husband to the Belgian throne (1993)
The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg	accession of husband to the Luxembourgish throne (2000)
The Princess of Monaco	dispensation from Pope Benedict XVI to the House of Grimaldi (2013)
The Queen of the Belgians	accession of husband to the Belgian throne (2013)
The Queen of Spain	accession of husband to the Spanish throne (2014)
The Princess of Naples/Princess of Piedmont, as a member of the House of Savoy	dispensation from Pope Pius XI to the House of Savoy (1929)

In recent years

Marina, Princess of Naples, wife of the Head of the House of Savoy, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, used the privilege on 18 May 2003 during a Catholic mass marking the birth anniversary of Pope John Paul II.^[6]

For the first time in Monégasque history on 12 January 2013, Charlene, Princess of Monaco, exercised the privilege in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy See Press Office later issued a press release declaring the following:

"…in accordance with prescribed ceremonial of the Vatican for Catholic Sovereigns, the Princess (of Monaco) was allowed to dress in white."^{[citation needed]}

Charlene availed the privilege again on 18 January 2016 when visiting Pope Francis as part of an official state visit to the Vatican with her husband, Albert II, Prince of Monaco.

List of occasions used

Among the occasions when the privilège du blanc has been exercised are the following:

Date	Queen / Princess	Pontiff	Occasion
2023 September 15	Queen Mathilde of Belgium	Francis	Private Audience
2018 October 14	Queen Sofía of Spain	Francis	Canonization of Pope Paul VI
2016 September 4	Queen Sofía of Spain	Francis	Canonization of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
2016 March 21	Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg	Francis	Private audience^[7]^{[verification needed]}
2016 January 18	Princess Charlene of Monaco	Francis	State visit to the Vatican
2015 March 9	Queen Mathilde of Belgium	Francis	Private audience
2014 June 30	Queen Letizia of Spain	Francis	State visit to the Vatican
2014 April 27	Queen Sofía of Spain Queen Paola of Belgium Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg	Francis	Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II
2013 March 19	Queen Paola of Belgium Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg	Francis	Inaugural mass of Pope Francis
2013 January 12	Princess Charlene of Monaco	Benedict XVI	Private audience
2011 May 1	Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg Queen Paola of Belgium	Benedict XVI	Beatification of Pope John Paul II
2009 October 10	Queen Paola of Belgium	Benedict XVI	Private audience
2006 May 8	Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg	Benedict XVI	Private audience
2005 April 24	Queen Sofía of Spain Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg	Benedict XVI	Inaugural mass of Pope Benedict XVI
2004 October 3	Queen Fabiola of Belgium	John Paul II	Beatification of Charles I of Austria
2003 May 18	Princess of Naples, Marina of Savoy	John Paul II	Birthday of Pope John Paul II
2003 March 23	Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg	John Paul II	Private audience
1998 May 15	Queen Paola of Belgium	John Paul II	Private audience
1981 April 30	Queen Sofía of Spain	John Paul II	Private audience
1978 October 22	Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg Queen Sofía of Spain	John Paul II	Inaugural mass of Pope John Paul II
1978 September 3	Queen Fabiola of Belgium Queen Sofía of Spain Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg	John Paul I	Inaugural mass of Pope John Paul I
1977 February 10	Queen Sofía of Spain	Paul VI	Private audience
1965 May 6	Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg	Paul VI	Private audience^{[citation needed]}
1961 June 9	Queen Fabiola of Belgium	John XXIII	Private audience^[8]
1939 December 28	Queen Elena of Italy Princess Marie José of Piedmont	Pius XII	Papal visit to the Quirinal Palace^[9]^{[verification needed]}
1939 January 23	Princess Maria of Savoy	Pius XI	Private audience after wedding
1935 March 4	Emanuela de Borbón y Dampierre, Duchess of Anjou and Segovia	Pius XI	Private audience after wedding
1930 January 8	Princess Marie José of Piedmont	Pius XI	Private audience after wedding
1929 December 28	Princess Maria Adelaide of Savoy	Pius XI	Private audience^[10]^{[verification needed]}
1929 December 7	Princess Giovanna of Savoy Princess Maria of Savoy	Pius XI	Private audience^[11]^{[verification needed]}
1929 December 5	Queen Elena of Italy Princess Helene, Duchess of Aosta-Savoy Queen of Belgium, Elizabeth of Bavaria Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies	Pius XI	Private audience after signing of the Lateran Treaty^[12]^{[verification needed]}
1923 November 19	Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain	Pius XI	Private audience^[13]^{[verification needed]}

References

^ James-Charles Noonan, Jr., The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church (New York: Viking, 1996), 411.
^ "His Catholic Majesty".
^ George Seldes, The Vatican: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1934), 125.
^ Fabio Cassani Pironti, Ordini in ordine: manuale d'uso decorazioni per il corpo diplomatico accreditato presso la Santa Sede, il Sovrano militare Ordine di Malta ed i rispettivi dignitari (Roma: Laurus Robuffo, 2004), 42 and 87.
^ https://catholicsay.com/only-seven-women-in-the-world-can-wear-white-to-officially-meet-the-pope-2/
^ "Marina in San Pietro con tailleur bianco". Corriere della Sera. 19 May 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
^ "Pope Francis receives Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg". news.va. Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^ "Privilege for Fabiola", New York Times (June 10, 1961), 10.
^ "Speeches 1939 - PIUS XII". vatican.va. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^ "Italian Princes See Pope: Duke and Duchess of Genoa Among Seven of House of Savoy Present". The New York Times (published 1929-12-29). 29 December 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 2016-06-08. Pope Pius received additional Princes of the ruling House of Savoy in audience today. They included the Duke and Duchess of Genoa, the Prince of Udine, the Duke of Pistoia, the Duke of Bergamo, Princess Maria Adelaide and the Duke of Ancona.
^ "Prince and Sisters Pay Visit to Pope", New York Times (December 8, 1929), 5.
^ "Italy's Sovereigns Make First Visit to Pope", New York Times (December 6, 1929), 1.
^ "Alfonso Received in Papal Splendor", New York Times (November 20, 1923), 7.

External links

Media related to Privilège du blanc at Wikimedia Commons

[1] James-Charles Noonan, Jr., The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church (New York: Viking, 1996), 411.

[2] "His Catholic Majesty".

[3] George Seldes, The Vatican: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1934), 125.

[4] Fabio Cassani Pironti, Ordini in ordine: manuale d'uso decorazioni per il corpo diplomatico accreditato presso la Santa Sede, il Sovrano militare Ordine di Malta ed i rispettivi dignitari (Roma: Laurus Robuffo, 2004), 42 and 87.

[5] ttps://catholicsay.com/only-seven-women-in-the-world-can-wear-white-to-officially-meet-the-pope-2/

[marina-6] "Marina in San Pietro con tailleur bianco". Corriere della Sera. 19 May 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2020-11-29.

[7] "Pope Francis receives Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg". news.va. Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

[8] "Privilege for Fabiola", New York Times (June 10, 1961), 10.

[Vatican.va-9] "Speeches 1939 - PIUS XII". vatican.va. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

[10] "Italian Princes See Pope: Duke and Duchess of Genoa Among Seven of House of Savoy Present". The New York Times (published 1929-12-29). 29 December 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 2016-06-08. Pope Pius received additional Princes of the ruling House of Savoy in audience today. They included the Duke and Duchess of Genoa, the Prince of Udine, the Duke of Pistoia, the Duke of Bergamo, Princess Maria Adelaide and the Duke of Ancona.

[nyt-gm-11] "Prince and Sisters Pay Visit to Pope", New York Times (December 8, 1929), 5.

[12] "Italy's Sovereigns Make First Visit to Pope", New York Times (December 6, 1929), 1.

[13] "Alfonso Received in Papal Splendor", New York Times (November 20, 1923), 7.

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