2020 was ushered in quietly for us -we were well asleep by the time midnight came around. Today we had a long standing booking for a small group tour of Buckingham Palace with a glass of champagne at the end! Cheers !!
We first went to Whitehall to the Household Cavalry Museum and Horseguards Parade. Horse Heaven for Maddie when she got to see a few of these highly trained and valuable equines. The main stables are Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge.
The museum was enjoyable but not overly detailed to the point of boredom. We then walked through Horseguards to The Mall and made our way to Buckingham Palace. Although we were too early for our tour, a visit to The Mews and The Queen's Gallery beckoned.
The Mews again held many horsey delight for Maddie- dressage arena, stables, horses and carriages. The Queen's Gallery curated an exhibition of one of England's more extravagent monarchs- George IV. His outgoings were eye watering but he did purchase an amazing collection of art and treasures which to this day are included in the Royal Collections Trust. A brief description of the exhibition from RCT website:
"From November 2019, George IV: Art & Spectacle will celebrate arguably the most magnificent of British monarchs and his unrivalled collection of art, much of which remains in the Royal Collection. As Prince of Wales and, from 1820, magnificent king, George IV purchased paintings, metalwork, textiles, furniture, watercolours, books and ceramics in vast numbers, many of these works by the finest artists of the day. Bringing together Dutch and Flemish masterpieces, magnificent portraits by Sir Thomas Lawrence and Sir Joshua Reynolds, delicate French porcelain, intricate goldsmiths’ work and elegant books and drawings, this exhibition will present George IV’s life through the art that enriched his world."
A beautiful exhibition and awfully glad we took the time to wander. Next stop our small group tour of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms at 1.15pm woohoo.
We were still early for the tour but it gave us time to walk over to St James's Park and generally soak up the surrounds. Time came for us to have a security check, present ourselves and embark upon this pretty special tour with about 20 other people. We walked through a passage way that roughly speaking takes you from the gate next to The Queen's Gallery along one side of the internal Palace quadrangle until you pop out next to the main internal covered entrance you see in royal wedding photos as the happy couple alights the carriage.
Up the steps and through the beautiful doors to the red carpet, gilded everything and exquisite interiors that do not disappoint. I had been to a large Summer opening of the Palace in 2017 so had a rough idea of how things played out- with an audio guide. But this tour enabled a more detailed and informed immersion because of the lady being able to move on only when we were ready.
All of those wonderful rooms you would have seen pictured in books or on the internet- the Throne Room ( think royal wedding portraits), Music Room where Prince William was christened, Picture Galley filled with mind boggling art, Ballroom and on it went up stairs and then down stairs. We were treated to a glass of champagne as a classy way to conclude the visit. Then, when ready to leave each couple or family was personally taken through the quadrangle, under the arch ( below the balcony from all those appearances right above!!), through the Forecourt ( think Changing of the Guard) through those black front gates.
A lady outside the gates asked us why we had been inside the Palace and we explained how to go about looking out for future tours. But within several weeks all that we knew about the future was to be turned on it's head..
After the Buckingham Palace experience we walked through St James's to the Tube station but it was closed. More walking and we hopped on the Tube at Victoria Station to go back to the hotel. A very happy New Year indeed!!
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