Former royal gardener Jack Stooks has offered his best tip for those invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party over the coming months.
Former royal gardener Jack Stooks has offered his best tip for those invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party.
The horticulturist advised attendees to head straight to the tea tent when they arrive for the prestigious summer events in order to beat the queues, because guests typically tend to congregate where they think they will have the best chance at meeting one of their royal hosts.
Speaking to Heart Bingo Online, he said: “A big marquee is usually put up and that’s where all the teas, coffees, cakes and sandwiches are served.
“I would always suggest going straight to the tent, getting a tea, coffee or sandwich, because there’s not a massive buildup of people at that point. What tends to happen is people go to the garden parties and they start to form a long waiting line to see the royals. It’s almost forming a walkway and it usually depends on the day who would be attending.
“People will queue up to wait for the Royal Family to come out and then as soon as the family walk down, everyone then rushes to the tea tent.”
Organisation for the events always runs smoothly because staff are so well versed in what needs to happen, with the main consideration being King Charles’ diary.
He said: “The King will normally attend all of them, or when it was the late Queen, she normally attended. Sometimes the Prince and Princess of Wales join, so it would just vary as to who can make the specific days. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh would also attend sometimes.
“As these garden parties have been going on for so long, it’s just completely seamless. It’s very easy for them to go and plan them around the King’s schedule.
“It would all obviously be checked when the King’s available in the summer and which dates work for him. Everything is done to his diary, and it’s a given that they’re going to make sure he’s going to attend.”
But one change that has been made in recent years is that guests are allowed to take pictures.
Jack said: “I remember ice creams will get handed round by different staff members, then you can actually freely wander around the garden.
“You used not to be able to take photos, but now everybody goes around and takes loads of pictures in the rose garden. It’s a really lovely thing to be invited to and to experience.”
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Former royal gardener shares Buckingham Palace party tips
