Royal Visit
Of course I accepted! Representing the British Institute of Interior Design at the Palace is an amazing honour. While the possibility of speaking to His Majesty was uppermost in my mind, the invitation did say that not all guests were guaranteed an audience.
What to wear? I decided it would be a fine tweed suit that I always enjoy wearing (I’m from Yorkshire after all) but I had no special tie to accompany it. So I HAD to go shopping. I settled on a gorgeous silk Alexander Mcqueen design from the new collection and with my Harry Potter-esque glasses my Palace visit outfit was complete.
On the day of the reception, I was already in town at an event at Minotti London’s showroom where the luxury Italian furniture maker was hosting a lunch with a select number of interior designers, two members of the Minotti family and the furniture design duo Inodasveje. After lunch I strolled in the direction of Buckingham Palace, stopping off at the Picturehouse Central for a coffee and a vegan chocolate cookie (delicious) . By now it was simply pouring down with rain! I arrived just ahead of time at the Palace and waited inside the gates in the downpour with the other sheltering guests awaiting permission to go inside. Any attempt at taking a digital shot of the moment for posterity was just too difficult while trying to hold an umbrella, suit bag, backpack and a phone!
6pm – we were ushered into the Palace and guided around the edge of the Quadrangle and into the stunning Grand Entrance. Here, gilded cornices glistened, white marble statues posed in gilded niches, with lavish ornate plasterwork, more marble fittings, clocks, and art surrounded us everywhere. I immediately noticed the sign saying NO PHOTOGRAPHY. Normally I would be snapping away, but I knew that I would now have to rely on my personal visual record. You can get a much better idea of the magnificence surrounding me on this link: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/interiors/a39391942/interior-design-buckingham-palace/
After leaving my belongings and phone in the cloakroom, I slowly ascended the stairs looking about me in wonder, and absorbing every detail! I collected my name badge, a glass of champagne and met another guest, Gary, my new friend for the evening. We were ushered into the famous Picture Gallery, in all its salmon pink Damask glory. When he renovated the palace in the 1820s, the legendary architect John Nash built the gallery in order to display glorious art masterpieces from the Royal Collection. You can see a view of the gallery on this link: https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/masterpieces-from-buckingham-palace/the-queens-gallery-buckingham/buckingham-palace-picture-gallery
We sipped champagne amidst an excited throng of guests, and compared notes about how we had ended up at such a privileged event. While I certainly knew why I was there, Gary wasn't sure how had secured an invite but said he was glad he had made the trip.
From where we stood, we could see King Charles enter the room and begin chatting to guests, 6 or 7 at a time, with security and photographers orbiting him. We figured, from where we were, the progress would sweep us up and we would have our opportunity to introduce ourselves. A charming palace official (it was the Master of the Kings Household) came up and asked us where we were from, and said to wait and that the King would be with us soon. Suddenly, to my surprise and dismay, we were asked to move away to the back of the crowd to make some space. The choreographed reception slowly continued as the King continued along, and we were politely asked to move four times. By now, over an hour had passed, the King was concluding his time with everyone, and was being signalled to leave the room. My heart sank.
Just then, the Master of the Kings Household noticed us, came up, and remarked how incredibly patient we had been! With a flourish, he ushered the King towards us, and we finally got to shake his hand. I opted for a Bow, and said “It's a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty. Happy Birthday for earlier this week”. The King smiled his thanks and asked what company I was from. I told him “I am the president of the British Institute of Interior Design, and I sit on the sustainability committee – something I am very passionate about”. He looked very pleased and replied - paraphrased - “I love interior design and am very fond of sustainability, thank you for joining us”. Everyone was happy, and the King finally left his reception, full of smiles.
As almost the last person in the queue, I could scarcely believe my good luck. I walked slowly back to the cloakroom in a happy daze – amazed and delighted that I had actually managed to greet the King of England!
