Each year in the late spring and early summer over 30,000 guests are invited to the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Royal Garden Parties always attract fascination and woman&home Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews has been lucky enough to attend over the years.
Reflecting upon the experience on an episode of her podcast, Catching Up with the Royals, Emily shared what she found "unimaginative" and revealed guests aren't given spoons to stir their tea. Why? Allegedly because "everyone always steals" them.
This idea perhaps clashes with the glamorous image one might have of guests in their formal attire, with the official dress code asking gentlemen to wear morning dress or lounge suits, while women wear day dress, usually with hats or fascinators. However, it makes sense. After all, who wouldn’t try to take a sneaky souvenir from the palace?
Perhaps replacing cutlery proved too costly or time-consuming. Now, instead of giving out teaspoons, Emily explained that guests are handed porcelain trays with which to balance their sandwiches and tea at the same time.
Seen as a vital way for the Royal Family to connect with a broad range of people from all walks of life, the tradition of Royal Garden Parties first started back in the 1860s, when Queen Victoria would host formal events known as ‘breakfasts’ for the upper classes to mingle. This later changed and the parties now focus on recognising and rewarding acts of public service and community spirit.
Today, guests can be nominated by colleagues if they work as any kind of public servant, as divulged by Emily. The royal expert listed off a few professions that are often present, including NHS workers, teachers, newly stated MPs and judges.
Guests usually have around an hour’s wait before the royals arrive and the National Anthem is played and guests are organised into lines. People are chosen ahead of time to speak to the royals, so it’s not a given that you’ll necessarily get to chat with the likes of the Princess of Wales or King Charles.
The royals also have their own special tent, which Emily described as something of a VIP tent, set up just before a big pond at the end of the gardens. This sounds pretty impressive but for Emily there was one aspect of the day that was perhaps a tad underwhelming - the gardens themselves.
Dubbing herself a "keen florist" on the podcast, she shared that, though the Rose Garden is "lovely", the wider gardens were "unimaginative" at the time.
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However, King Charles might have improved upon that. Emily acknowledged that she hasn’t been to a Garden Party since His Majesty took the throne, and he has reportedly "sown a lot of wildflowers" and revamped the gardens.
This is in keeping with what’s known about the King, who has also transformed the 200-year-old East Terrace Garden at Windsor Castle into the Venus Garden. Recently announced by the Royal Collection Trust, the gardens were designed according to plans by the King, inspired by his passion for astronomy and sustainability.
