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A Special Day at Buckingham Palace
When I received a phone call asking if I would represent the Southern Region of Riding for the Disabled Association at a garden party, I initially imagined myself manning a stall at some kind of fete. When HRH the Princess Royal was mentioned, I realised that I was in for something quite different! The party was to celebrate her 60th birthday, and she had chosen to invite all the charities, sixty eight in all, of which she is president or patron.
RDA had arranged for us to meet for lunch so we could get to know each other. It was nice to see some familiar faces from RDA National, and to see the RDA volunteers dressed as ladies! In my own case this is a rare event. After a stroll across the park we got in to the Buckingham Palace grounds early, and had ample time to look round the garden and to sit down and chat while the band played. The garden was a green oasis, full of mature trees, with only the rumble of traffic and the occasional police car siren to remind us that we were in the heart of London. The rose garden was at its best, but the borders were a bit disappointing. They surrounded a tennis court which was not an ideal backdrop.
The tea was delicious, small sandwiches, rolls, fruit tarts and scones. We were told that there were about four thousand people there, but there were so many stations for collecting the food and drink that there was almost no queuing.
Yeomen of the Guard came out on to the Palace steps and the Princess soon appeared, looking very elegant in a pale green suit which showed off her slim figure. She worked her way down the two lines of people, taking almost two hours to reach the tea tent. This could have been boring, but as we were all from charities we had a talking point, and chatted to lots of people from charities such as Save The Children, Hearing Dogs, the Happisburgh Lighthouse and many more. We also looked at the other guests, who included quite a few handsome men! Most of the women were wearing “mother of the bride” type clothes, but we also spotted quite a few expensive looking designer outfits. The funniest hat had to be a swirly confection with net round it, looking just like an electric fan from a distance!
The princess passed close to us, still smiling, and her husband spoke briefly to one of our group. It was a wonderful day, but it was lovely to get off the train at Bekesbourne and see the green fields and hop gardens. The next day, loading the horses in to the lorry for evening RDA in my usual dress of jeans and boots, it seemed a bit like a dream!
Christine Sladden, Cobbes Meadow Riding and Driving Group
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