State Dinners are often hosted by the Governor General at Government House.
On arrival
The senior representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should meet their Excellencies on arrival to Government House. Their Excellencies should be introduced by an officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Governor General upon arrival. A handshake, rather than a curtsy or bowing, is the common and accepted form of greeting when meeting the Governor-General. Details of the event, background information and who the Governor-General will be meeting should be provided in advance.
Arrangements for seating
As the King or Queen’s representative, the Governor-General and spouse are always seated in a place of honour.
For a dinner setting, the Governor-General is seated at the top table. The Official Guest of the Governor General should be seated of the right side of the Governor General.
The Governor-General is always accompanied by an Aide-de-Camp and at times the Protocol Officer The officers should always be seated close to the Governor-General. The Governor-General may also be accompanied by his security. Details of who these persons are should be provided in advance.
Pōwhiri
If the Governor-General is to receive a pōwhiri, agreement should be reached well beforehand. This should involve speeches, cultural performance, singing and. is used to both welcome guests. The National Anthem should be played in the first instance of the Pōwhiri..
Speaking engagements
If the Governor-General speaks at a lunch or dinner engagement, it should be requested if he/she prefers to speak either between the entrée and main course, or between main course and dessert, but not after dessert.
Dietary requirements
Details of the dietary requirements of all Dignitaries for should be forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then communicated to organizers of the State Dinner of Government House.
Dress
Government House should communicate the appropriate dress for the occasion, this is normally stated on the invitations. Generally, it will either be Formal-black tie/evening dress short or long; Informal-business wear/day dress; or Casual-jacket and tie/day dress.
Medals and decorations
Unless it is specified that medals are to be worn, it is not required that they be worn to a function. However, if an honour has been received, and unless protocol dictates otherwise, it is appropriate that the decoration is worn at functions hosted by the Governor-General.
Media
The Governor-General is comfortable with any media or photographers being present during a visit. The Government House Engagement and Communications team should be in contact in advance where it is intended for media or a photographer to be present. Media releases should be cleared and drafted with Government House prior to release.
Plaques
The wording for all plaques must be approved by Government House.
Gifts
Government House would be solely responsible for the presentation of gifts to his or her specially invited guests.
Seating plans for State Dinner
Please see Annex 12 for diagram on State Dinners
