SW1A 1AA. Did you recognise that post
code? It belongs to only one building in
Britain, Buckingham Palace. Did you know that it was originally the site of a
mulberry garden planted by King James I to rear silkworms? But I digress.
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| Photo: Helen Matthews |
It is what the shopping channels call a
‘considered purchase’. My ticket for the
State Rooms alone cost about £20.
Pricier options combined the State Rooms with the Queen’s Gallery and
the Royal Mews. Guided Tours, including ‘Garden Highlights’, sold out almost
immediately despite an even heftier price-tag.
There is a considerable appetite for our royal heritage out there!
Huge numbers of visitors are processed,
with timed tickets and full airport-style security. It is enormously popular
with tourists: I read that about 300 are admitted per 15-minute slot. A young, enthusiastic and extremely vigilant
staff ensured the smooth running of the operation with minimal security
risk. However, armed police also patrolled
outside at regular intervals.
At the beginning of the tour, you are given
a multi-media guide i.e. the traditional audio-guide with some extra
films. All very classy and
informative. About two hours is
recommended for the tour. It probably
takes just over an hour to walk through the rooms at a moderate pace, listening
to most of the audio-guide, but there are benches for those who wish to linger
amongst the historical treasures.
Photography inside the State Rooms is expressly prohibited.
Summer 2015 featured a new exhibition ‘A
Royal Welcome’, describing the organisation of State banquets. Exhibits explained the minutiae of catering,
service and etiquette on such grand occasions, not forgetting some of Her
Majesty’s gowns and jewels. The Palace
Ballroom was set out for a banquet, replicating the visit of the President of
Singapore. It was, by far, my favourite
room. I also enjoyed a description of
the garden parties in another room. I
now have a very good idea of the Queen’s height and figure, with more dresses
and hats displayed on life-sized mannequins.
Splendour followed splendour, until we
reached the hospitality section at the end of the tour. The Garden Café catered to the inner loyal
subject – at a price. ‘Toilets’ would have
been too downmarket. We were directed to
the ‘Lavatories’. A royal flush, maybe.
I did not investigate the Family Room, but this avid Postcrosser picked up a
packet of postcards in the amply stocked gift shop. I saw one small child persuade his mother to
buy him a replica bearskin hat. I’m not
too sure how long he wore it in the 25° heat.
The final part of the tour followed a
pleasant path skirting the gardens, past a stall selling ice cream made from
the milk produced by the Jersey cows on Her Majesty’s Windsor estate. My husband selflessly – and patriotically -
pronounced it delicious. At the exit,
there was a booth where tickets could be stamped for a free extra visit within
the year. You then found yourself rather
unceremoniously out in the street, half way along Grosvenor Place, from where
it was a ten-minute walk back round to the front of the Palace.
It was the weekend of the Prudential Ride
London cycling festival. Roads were
closed off, and marshals had to operate a ‘lollipop’ system for letting us
cross the road amongst the never-ending streams of cyclists. Green Park was full of every sort of
cycling-related activity and sales opportunity. The throngs of cyclists mingled
with the throngs of tourists. It was a
lively atmosphere but not an experience for those who are nervous of crowds.
An entertaining postscript to our day out
was provided by the youthful revellers taking the train to the Eastern Electric
Festival at Hatfield House. The genre was ‘underground, house and techno’ and
the vibe in the train was pure Ibiza!
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