On Tuesday the 3rd of June, I had the immense pleasure of attending the
Royal Garden Party with 3 wonderful ladies. The first question everyone
has asked me is 'how did you get invited?' Obviously, it is because I am
very important! In reality, the Australian Embassy has an allotment of
invites which Australian residents can apply for and I was lucky enough
to secure one of these invites. I highly recommend applying - it is the
social event of the year!
We arrive at Buckingham Palace and wait among the guests to enter the front courtyard of the Palace. We are ushered past the guards (not willing to ask them to pose for a photo) to pass through two reception rooms, both ornately decorated. We emerge onto the West Terrace overlooking the largest private garden in London (and it is huge!). The sun was shining as we descended the stairs to explore the gardens before Tea was served.
We are served cold drinks and tea, and an assortment of delicacies
(including cucumber with mint sandwiches!). I loaded up plated with as much as I
could carry as I didn't want to miss a thing!
The Queen and Royal family were due to arrive in the Gardens at 4, so
after we ate our afternoon tea we headed to the Royal Tent to begin
forming 'lanes' to which the members of the Royal family would walk
down. 10 minutes before the Queen was due to arrive it began raining.
Due to rain, we missed the band play God Save the Queen to mark the
arrival of the Royal Family - we waited anxiously unsure if Queen would
come out in the rain!
Shortly, through another lane, Prince Phillip pops up and makes a comment on my shoes! I am not entirely sure what he said but I definitely think he was implying that they were mouldy!
Last but not least, Prince Charles, comes strolling down the final lane,
umbrella in hand! He stops to chat to guests along the way, trying to
talk to as many as he can. Eventually he stops and talks to us, chatting
to us about the weather and if we were enjoying our day. It was an
incredibly surreal experience to say that I had spoken to Prince Phillip
and Prince Charles.
After half hour or so in the tent, we formed one long line and ushered the Royal Family back to Buckingham Palace.