Click the photo montage to enlarge.
Garden Parties 2023
To celebrate the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen, two Garden Parties took place in the Buckingham Palace Garden in 2023, as well as one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
The first of the annual Garden Parties took place on Wednesday the 3rd of May when The King and The Queen were accompanied by The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent.
On the day of the Garden Party, the Palace gates are open at 3:00pm, and the Party officially begins when members of the Royal Family enter the Garden at 4:00pm when the National Anthem is played by one of the two military bands present.
While the bands continue to play, members of the Royal Family circulate among the guests through 'lanes'. Each takes a different route, and random presentations are made so that everyone has an equal chance of speaking to a member of the Royal Family. Members of the Royal family then arrive at the Royal Tea Tent, where they meet further guests. Guests are free to eat, drink and stroll around the beautiful Palace Gardens.
Established during the reign of Queen Victoria, Garden Parties are an important way for members of the Royal Family to speak to a broad range of people from all walks of life, all of whom have made a positive impact in their community.
Throughout the country, an established network of sponsors is used to invite guests that include Lord-Lieutenants, societies and associations, government departments, local government, the services, the church and other faiths. They nominate guests for invitation as a way to achieve a representative cross section of the community.
A Grand Day Out
Upchurch Parish Council choose Sue Rossiter to attend and represent the parish as somebody who, over the years, has made an outstanding contribution to our village community.
Sue was accompanied on her grand day out by her husband Keith and has kindly sent us this thank you and account of their lovely afternoon spent together at the Palace Garden Party:
My husband Keith and I were privileged to visit Buckingham Palace on Wednesday the 3rd of May, to attend the first of two Garden Parties hosted by Their Majesties The King and The Queen.
Upchurch Parish Council kindly put my name forward, and lo and behold, an impressive invitation from the Office of the Lord Chamberlain arrived a month beforehand. We were very excited and invested in a new outfit each, so we looked the part.
The day was sunny, and we drove up to London and found the disabled parking allocated to us at Wellington Barracks, across the road from the Palace. Everyone looked after us, whether they were soldiers, police, or Palace members of staff. The afternoon tea was delicious and very well organised. The Gardens were immaculate, and there were two brass bands! Eight Thousand guests were there, in all their finery and array of summer dresses, hats and fascinators, lounge suits, morning dress and uniforms.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the Royal Family duly appeared on the terrace and walked down to their tea tent, stopping at times to shake hands with the guests. As there were so many of us, we couldn’t really get close, although we did see them at that stage.
Later, as Keith was in a wheelchair, he joined a row of others, and we could see members of the Royal Family as they made their way out of the garden. We spoke to Queen Camilla and Prince Edward, now Duke of Edinburgh. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, also spoke to us, and Keith was pleased to shake their hands. They were all so nice and wanted us all to have a good experience.
We certainly had a wonderful time, and we are grateful to the Parish Council for thinking of me as someone worthy enough to be chosen. I know there are many people in Upchurch who do much more than me or Keith. I like to think we proudly represented our lovely village on that day.
Sue Rossiter
Upchurch Matters
