I'm writing this because, when I knew I was really going to go to a Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, I searched the web looking for everything I could possibly find out about it and, though there was quite a lot to be found, the personal experiences of those who had actually been were few. I did find quite a good sort of chat in response to someone who had asked what on earth she should wear but what to wear wasn't really what I needed to know as they make it quite clear on the invite and all you have to do is find a sort of 'afternoon dress' that you might wear at a wedding, and some sort of hat. I wanted to know what it was like! And so I will proceed to tell anyone who has chanced to come here and wants to read this, how it was for us.

It is not like anything else one experiences if one is fairly ordinary and not accustomed to Ascot and things like that - but then again it is utterly different from any 'high society' occasion you may care to imagine because everyone around you is equal, in that:
-they are all so lucky and honoured to be there - (something they've done for the community has rendered them eligible)-
-they are all equally decked out in their best -
-they have nearly all never been there before, and -
-they are all absolutely thrilled.

The result is a group of 8,000 people rendered down into one community for one glorious afternoon by these shared denominators!

Me, and my equally thrilled daughter, having cleverly arranged to stay the night in London in walking distance of the Grosvenor Place Buckingham Palace gate, travelled up in the morning and were able to get into our hotel and put on our stuff in fairly comfortable time. It was a brilliant choice to enter the gardens by one of those two 'lesser' gates because they are less popular and we were actually second in the queue without being ridiculously early. Some people queueing at the Buckingham Palace entry actually didn't get in, till 4.30!

When the Grosvenor Place gate opened we were suddenly IN and it was really like finding ourselves in Frances Hodgson Burnett's Secret Garden. We were nearly alone because we ignored the direct route for the tea tent and walked round the lake. I'd expected it to be like a formal park and was astonished by the lovely expanse of water and actual mounds and valleys, sweeps of land and huge trees - all in the centre of London! - Forests of bamboo, willow trees and wilderness - even nettles and wild flowers bordered the lake, with indigenous untroubled wildfowl moving about the still surface of the water.
Further on, past the rose garden (where it lightly rained for a while and we sheltered under tall trees), we found the main herbacious borders with everything discreetly named and all wonderful lovely old-fashioned plants and we were then near the palace and in sight of the open lawn and the multitude of people in their amazing rigouts.

That's all for the moment, I'll describe the seeing of the Queen and the visits to the tea tent before too long . . .

 

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