Buckingham Palace

Hello again! We had a unique opportunity to take a private tour of Buckingham Palace with a group from the American Women's Club. What was especially nice about the private tour was that we were able to get some detailed explanations about all of the wonderful artwork that is inside the palace and even had the baracades moved so that we could walk right up to original works from Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto and Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey; exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain; and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

We could not take any pictures inside the palace so we have borrowed a few from the official website but let me say that the pictures do not do it justice. To see the original works, state and drawing rooms, Ballroom set up for a State Banquet, and finally the "queen's backyard" was truly magnificent. Here we go...

As the palace is one of the few "working" palaces in use today, the State Rooms are used extensively by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. We haven't received an invitation for dinner yet.

For centuries magnificent banquets have been an integral part of royal ceremonial and the traditional way to mark significant events. Among the most important of these occasions is the State Banquet, held in honour of a visiting Head of State. This is the occasion when Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family entertain specially invited guests on the first evening of a State Visit. During the course of her reign The Queen has held 97 State Banquets.

The horseshoe-shaped table traditionally used on such occasions will be dressed with a dazzling display of silver-gilt from the magnificent Grand Service, first used to celebrate the birthday of George III in 1811. Lavish buffet arrangements of jewelled cups, ivory tankards and chased dishes, sconces, shields and basins will be arranged along each side of the room. Absolutely stunning!!! Well worth the price of admission.

When the tour was over, we were able to head out to the garden for a much deserved glass of champagne. We felt like royalty ourselves for a moment! Described as a 'walled oasis in the middle of London', the Palace's garden is home to thirty different species of bird and more than 350 different wild flowers, some extremely rare.

We will leave you with a bit of video from the Queen's backyard...

Enjoy and God Bless. Love, Leah and Derek.