Every year, Her Majesty the Queen welcomes over 30,000 guests to her Summer garden parties to enjoy a warm afternoon soaking up the sun in the stunning gardens of Buckingham Palace. With over 27,000 cups of tasty tea, 20,000 sandwiches and get this one… 20,000 slices of cake served, the guests are well and truly treated like royalty! Those invited to the fancy party by the Queen have made significant positive contributions to the community, so unfortunately not all of us get to taste one of those 20,000 slices of delicious pieces of cake. So what happens at one of these three parties?
Who’s going?
The Garden Parties are the ideal way for the Queen to assemble those who have provided their dedicated services to the public and get to know more about their achievements, congratulating them for their hard work and commitment. Societies, lord-lieutenants, armed forces, local government, the church and more important guests arrive from all over the country to attend the special event and it’s all things smart clothing and fancy hats at the party. Basically, if you don’t follow the dress code, you will stick out like a sore thumb! For the gentlemen, it’s a super smooth dress suit and for the ladies it’s your best dress and a fascinator that’s as extravagant as you like. The dress rules are similar to Ascot if you’ve ever attended the famous horse racing event, but 10 times more elegant!
What goes on at a Garden Party?
The party officially starts at 3pm after the guests go through a pretty lengthy security check before entering the royal grounds. After all the fuss, the tea party takes place in the garden…. which is in fact, 40 acres of parkland that was sculpted in 1609 by James I and one hour later after all the guests have mingled and sipped however many cups of tea, the Royal Family arrive at 4pm. With a brass band accompanying them and playing the celebrated national anthem, the members of monarchy make one heck of an entrance, then circulate around designated lanes through the gardens, so that they can meet as many of the guests as possible. After all the ‘good afternoon’s’ and ‘how do you do’s’, the Queen then moves on into a special tent where the ‘top tier’ guests await for their greeting (who do you have to be to get there?!). Finally, everyone gets to sit down and get a piece of cake at last.
For three parties in one year at the royal venues, 400 staff are required and you can only imagine the catering bill for the event. The food is of course the typical best of British, with crust-less cucumber sandwiches, Victoria sponge cake and the classic treat of strawberries and cream. Simple and down-right delicious! So if you happen to have been waiting for an invite and it never came, don’t worry, this kind of lunch is super easy to make at home!
Are you attending the garden party this year? Or the famous Chelsea Flower Show? Or another special occasion? Get your glam on at the Georgian House, just minutes from the venues, where you’ll also be treated like a member of the Royal Family! Sip a glass of sparkling wine upon your arrival to get you even more excited for the event and ladies, we’ll look after your fascinators! Book your stay today and be prepared for a whole day of pampering…
