The Susie Zone - Exploring Buckingham Palace (April 2018)
Exploring Buckingham Palace
by Susie J. Briscoe
This is #4 in my series, in which we explore places where I have personal experience. Once again, we remain in London, at a familiar landmark: Buckingham Palace.
I hope you can see that the Royal Ensign is flying from the flagpole. This is personal to HM The Queen and only is raised to denote when Her Majesty is in residence.
Now, you may very well be wondering why I would select this building at this time. Not only have I attended private receptions there, but I thought this month it would make a nice lead-in to the marriage of HRH Prince Harry to Miss Meghan Markle which is to take place next month, May 2018, at Windsor Castle.
Returning to my personal connection... I received an invitation from one of the charities I have been working with to attend an evening reception. Being in the middle of planning a big event at that moment I didn’t really give it too much thought, which makes me smile now.
At the end of the morning, I returned to the invitation to see whether I was free and to then write it in my diary. Yes, I was free, and it was only then that I realised the venue: Buckingham Palace!
I nearly fell off my chair - and then rushed to telephone my husband, Albert. Can you imagine? That invitation had been sitting there unobserved all morning!
Needless to say, Albert was as surprised as me. The invitation to attend had come from the Spinal Injuries charity and HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne (second child and only daughter of our Queen) was to host the evening. This would be the first time I would meet her, so I was very excited.
Albert reminded me that we had seen her, with her first husband Mark Phillips, as we overtook them on the motorway some time before when we were returning from dropping Lara back to school. She has a very distinctive hairstyle which was so easily recognised even from behind her car, and so to ensure we were right, we overtook.
Sure enough, it was her (with her then husband) and, of course, the ever-present Royal protection officer seated in the rear. We tried not to rubberneck as we went past, but it was an inevitability... human nature just cannot resist!
The special evening arrived. We were to drive up to London and we had parking within the Palace grounds. Albert teased me by suggesting we used the little station car to drive up, but I was having none of that. So we drove up in style, in our beautiful Bentley S-type.
It was amazing to drive through those gates, passing through the police cordon with our proof of identity, and then to sweep across the forecourt and go through the archway and through to the courtyard beyond. And then to walk through the actual doorway to the Palace itself, and the magnificent hallway beyond, complete with its grand stairway.
Our reception was to be held in the Bow Room (pictured to the right), which had the most beautiful rounded bay window overlooking the gardens at the rear of the House.
It was a magnificent evening! We enjoyed the conversations and meeting interesting people including several who were very significant in the racing world. A lot of jockeys unfortunately sustain spinal injuries and it was really interesting to see the time and care that the Princess gave to them, whom she obviously knew well prior to the evening.
Above: West Façade, Bucking Palace showing the large Bay Window of the Bow Room
In the course of the evening, both Albert and I were presented to her and had a private chat and then it was time to leave. As always, there was a group of tourists standing around taking pictures of the palace for their own albums and it was such fun as it gave such a buzz to see them suddenly spring to their cameras to take pictures of us sweeping out of the Palace gates in our old Bentley, on our way to have dinner with our daughter and a friend. Canapes and champagne with a Princess and then dinner with our own homegrown princess. Perfect!
After this first introduction to the Palace, I am so pleased to say that we had another invitation, this time from the charity Action Medical Research whose Royal patron is HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (no less a person than the Queen’s husband). On this occasion we were taken upstairs into the Grand Picture Gallery, pictured below.
Needless to say, I had to have a peek into another room that was adjacent. The waiters were all emerging from one particular door and, of course, I was curious to know what lay behind it. I was stunned to see food being 'prepped' (for lack of a better word) where I would least expect it...
I doubt you will believe my astonishment... The Throne Room was being used as the staging room, with trestle tables, etc. for canape preparation! I could not believe my eyes!
When we met The Duke, he was more formal than his daughter, which surprised me as she has a reputation of being regal - more regal than her elder brother in effect. And, whilst he welcomed and greeted each of us with a handshake and a couple of words, there was no real conversation.
However, on both occasions the royal party emerged, once we were all assembled, through double doors and with great flourish.
Now on to the detail of the Palace itself:
Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large town house built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century, it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds. The palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
The 1844 Room, a sitting room of the Belgium Suite,
also serves as an audience room and is often used for personal investitures.
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September and on some days in winter and spring.
Source: Wikipedia, with additional material by SJB
Don’t forget to share with me what you discovered during this month and let me know if I may share it within this newsletter next month.
