For the Queen and Country | The Queen Tea Garden Party
Doina Moss reporting from The Queen Tea Garden Party. 5th June 2018, at Buckingham Palace, London.
We won the Lottery! 5 years ago, my friend Alexandrina applied for permission to have tea with the Queen via the Canadian Embassy, as a British subject, which is a very strict procedure. To my absolute delight, she kindly asked me to accompany her.
A gloriously sunny day enhanced our experience and we navigated through all the hoops of entering the Palace, quick gazes at the public rooms, straight to the other side where the huge Tea tents were set up.
The two bands were playing in a synchronised manner, from the opposite sides of the garden, resulting with a fully immersive audio experience, giving a spring to our steps on the immaculate velvety green lawn.
Grace and protocol, impeccably coordinated by the ushers wearing very tall hats and umbrellas to open the way for the Royals. New paths were formed every time a Prince, Princess, Duke or Duchess advanced towards the Royal Tea tent. They had numerous stops en route to engage with the guests and the journey to Tea took hours!
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attended the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, replacing Queen Elizabeth the II.
I personally managed to have a brief but engaging conversation with Prince Charles, by starting to congratulate him on the commissioning of the book “The Transylvanian Florilegium” which immediately attracted a reaction from him. I could have a brief but genuine conversation, not forgetting to mention that I am also an Architect!
We eventually proceeded to the actual Tea tents to fill up our plates with gastronomic delights.
Eventually all the Royal entourage and International Diplomats arrived at the Royal Enclosure, where the public could watch from a safe distance. The Beefeaters marched up and down.
After the tea, the Royal party left and we explored the delightful gardens, had ice cream and lemonade, made lots of new friends and enjoyed more lively music.
This was a truly memorable afternoon, celebrating the Queen’s birthday in the most traditional and formal way.
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All photos by Alexandrina Boariu and Doina Moss