On Monday, May 16, I went to Buckingham Palace Gardens, I was invited by my brother to attend his Duke of Edinburgh celebration event.
My brother had completed his Gold Award back in 2018 and was finally getting the chance to go to the Palace to pick up his award.
It was one of the first events to be held in Buckingham Palace Gardens since Covid and the Duke of Edinburgh’s sad passing last year.
We made our way to the Palace from Southwark where we had been staying the night, navigating the Jubilee and Piccadilly line.
After going through security, I was amazed at just how beautiful the gardens are, you really did feel like the garden was fit for a Royal Family.
Officially the gardens belong to the Queen and they are the largest private garden in London, measuring 39 acres.
The Queen’s summer Garden Parties host up to 24,000 people every year.
Once we got to the Lawn we were greeted by the Band of the Coldstream Guards led by Major Stewart Halliday and the Band of the Royal Air Force conducted by Sgt Matthew Walker.
We then made our way to the main tea tent where we were treated to a lovely cup of tea and cupcakes which looked amazing.
Before 11 am, I headed over to the West Terrance in order to get a glimpse of HRH The Earl of Wessex - better known as Prince Edward - who was representing the Queen.
At 11 am the National Anthem sounded, there was an awkward moment where the people sitting down did not stand up until 20 seconds in.
Fortunately, it was only the first half of the National Anthem that was being played.
Afterwards, His Royal Highness remarked: “You can all sit down now.”
Following speeches by Felix Daglish, Johannes Radebe and the Earl, His Royal Highness took some time to talk to some of the recipients.
After managing to get a photo of the Earl I did some more exploring of the gardens.
The lakes in the gardens are so therapeutic, when you look at them it feels like you are in another country.
We were then treated to a talk by Tim Campbell, who won the first series of The Apprentice and was Lord Sugar’s aide in the last series.
Mr Campbell was giving career advice, his background and how he got to where is today, it was inspiring.
Overall, the experience was amazing, the gardens were a work of art, and I could have spent all day there.
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