Margaret Baker, President SI Bolton, describes a tea party to remember.
Last December I received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant nominating me for an invitation to a Royal Garden Party. It was a wonderful surprise and quite thrilling to receive the actual invitation itself in April.
The weather had been dreadful so my sister (my guest) and I bought umbrellas (white and lacy, of course) for showers, and throwaway packamacs (see-through, of course) for sudden downpours; and I wondered how much thermal underwear I could fit under my posh frock to keep warm (answer – not much). However, by the time the day itself arrived it was glorious sunshine with an expected high of 26 degrees. (Decision now – how little could I wear under my posh frock?)
We entered by the Hyde Park gate and the first official I met asked about my chain of office. It was a pity he was a guy but maybe he had a wife. We were able to wander freely through the palace gardens and around the back of the palace itself. We could sit or walk or wander or simply enjoy the fact that we were in Her Majesty’s back garden. I, and probably every female there, spent some of (most of?) the time thinking “Oh that’s a lovely hat” – or otherwise! In truth though there weren’t many ‘otherwises’ and there were certainly lots of eye catching arrangements.
When the national anthem was played at 4pm we saw the Queen in a peach coloured dress, coat and hat standing by Prince Philip on the terrace. She set off on a 100 metre walk to the royal tea tent – a walk that took her nearly an hour. There were no ropes just a polite path made from the terrace to the tent by the crowds. As we couldn’t get to the front of this pathway we chose to wait by the tent itself where we had a clear, uninterrupted view as the royal party made their way to eat. The Queen and the Prince were smiling and clearly enjoying the event but I have to admit to not recognising the other royals in the party!
We collected our tea which included cucumber sandwiches, obligatory I think, and several other varieties, with numerous cakes suitably topped with decorative crowns. There was plenty to eat, and ice cream was brought around to the guests later on.
We saw Her Majesty leave her tea tent and wave. I think at one point she spotted me but couldn’t get through the crowds to chat. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
After the national anthem at 6pm, the royal party returned into the palace (and HM probably had her hat and shoes off within five minutes) and several of us risked a sneaky phone photo (no cameras were allowed) before walking through a couple of rooms in the palace into the inner courtyard, then out under the balcony into the more well viewed areas inside the gates. We were reluctant to leave there as we knew the huge gates were a point of no return and we wanted to prolong the experience as long as we could. We may not have made the official video being made of the afternoon but we certainly featured on numerous tourist photos from those with their noses pressed up to the famous railings.
It was a wonderful experience and we had to keep reminding ourselves just exactly where we were. It was a wonderful privilege to have had the invitation and an experience I shall never forget.
PS Does anyone need a white lacy umbrella or see-through rainmac? (Thermal underwear needed for my next holiday!)