Another "pinch me" moment in London. We were invited to the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 10 June. It also happened to be Prince Philip's 93rd Birthday.
We were told no photographs, so we were being really sneaky. Then we found everyone seemed to be taking pix. So, here are a few clandestine and some brazen (ok, so as much as you can be in the inner courts of Buckingham) photos. I've also snagged a few shots from my friend Delisa. It was totally verboten to take any when the Royal Family was around. So, no shots of Kate's derriere, sorry fellas.
We had Rock Star treatment when the we stepped out of the hired schmancy car right at the front gate with the other guests snaking around the corner in queue. A Bobby motioned for us to head immediately through the gates. I guess uniform sometimes has its privileges. They verified our invitations and we were heading through the the palace to the garden! Did I say "pinch me" yet?
Wow, what an awesome entry as we exited to the immense lawn with marquis tea tents and all the guests milling about on the lawn.
We took a walk around the lake and checked out the gardens.
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Didn't see the Queen's swans. Maybe they were afraid of the recent swan hunter in London photo credit Delisa T-R |
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| The rose gardens |
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A fine day for a garden party! |
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Adrian wasn't so blasé about the event now! You know, after meeting Prince Charles and all two weeks ago, this Royalty thing is getting old for him. (Stay tuned for the HRM Prince Charles photo soon) |
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Who would have thought Liz would have flowers to match my dress? |
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Sneaking (well, with the camera) up to the back of the band's tents and rest areas for guests. |
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Part of the palace in the background. That's my hat in the foreground. |
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This was a shot from my purse. I didn't realize I captured the gentleman on the left. He had lots of good Int for where to go to catch a glimpse of the family. Turns out, he is the head gardener for Prince Edward. We chatted with all kinds of interesting people.
The food was delicious. There was even apple juice from Sandringham. Maybe had we not been so focused on the cucumber and mint sandwiches, one of those ushers would have noticed us and introduced us to the Queen. I thought about stuffing one of those chocolate mousse things (with a French croustillant name, really) into my purse, but there were no napkins. Like, does the Queen lick her fingers? Maybe they had napkins in the Royal Tent? It ended up melting on my tea cup and was pretty inelegant when I popped it into my mouth. But it didn't stop me from getting a second one. Hmm, maybe the ushers did notice us.... The passion fruit curd tarts were tangy and tropical.
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| photo Delisa T-R |
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The Tea Tents - after clean-up photo Delisa T-R
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The backsides of waiters going around with trays of ice cream. |
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Who knew I should have brought sunscreen to an English garden party? I'm sure the ice cream will work the same way. |
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When the Queen exits, she heads for the striped marquis tent in the background. We got this Int from the Head Gardener and then we made sure we took up lots of front row real estate for the procession. |
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Canadian Forces guests. They helped form the front line! A strong defence. |
When the Queen exited the Royal Tea Tent, the Beefeaters parted the seas. Really, they move the crowd back to make a wide path for the Queen and Royal Family. We were able to chat with the ushers and they had a great sense of humour. I think most of them are ex-military as they seemed to know all about military protocol. The Beefeaters are way past pensionable contract time- these guys are ancient! But, boy was their drill sharp! Some of them had quite the rack of medals.
It was really quite an exciting finale for us as we were feet away from the Queen as she left. She is so vibrant and has amazing blue eyes. She looks younger in real life than in photos. As for Prince Philip celebrating his 93rd birthday, he's still looking pretty dapper. The crowd sang Happy Birthday, despite him not wanting a fuss. Princesses Anne and Eugenie are also much better looking in person. But as everyone wants to know, Kate is way taller in person with her sky high heels and way thinner. She's like a chicken frame with no hips or bum - I did get a good look. She has a really dazzling smile that you can see from far. She too is even better looking in person.
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The inner courtyard. |
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Inside looking out |
This will certainly be a day to remember. I think the kids call it epic. It was the ultimate British experience - royalty, tea, garden party, big hats. Who would have thought a year ago, I'd be having tea at the Queen's house? I mean, when they played God Save the Queen, she was there!! Maybe I'll have to get a bigger hat and go to Ascot next year.
