The Queen's biggest birthday party yet is in full
effect!
One day after London's grand Trooping the Colour
in her honor, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 90th
birthday on Sunday with an outdoor party – and
10,000 guests in the road leading from Buckingham
Palace on Sunday. (If you haven't yet seen the
Lego version, please do so now. We'll wait.)
It was the third main event to publicly laud the
Queen in as many days, following her "neon at 90"
appearance at Trooping on Saturday and a
thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral on
Friday.
The rain cleared just before the royals appeared.
First came Prince William, Princess Kate – in a blue
dress by Roksanda – and Prince Harry, all riding in
an open-top car. Also in the convoy: the Earl and
Countess of Wessex and their daughter Lady Louise
and Prince Andrew and his daughters Princesses
Beatrice and Eugenie.
Speaking with the crowd, Kate "was saying that
George opened the door today and said, 'It's not
very nice out today mummy, is it?' She said 'No, it
isn't George,' " shared Ella Hunter-Gibbs.
"She said she felt sorry for us in the rain. It has
been a fantastic day, she was so nice."
"They are such a gracious couple," says Stuart
Rivers, who was there representing the Sailors'
Society organization. "Her heart is for young people
and we shared with her the work we do with young
people around the world particularly supporting the
children of seafarers with schooling."
Adds Mel Warman, also of the group: "It's so lovely
that they want to hear what you've been doing. It's
so lovely that people in that position have that real
genuine interest in what we are doing around the
world. She looked amazing, stunning."
A near neighbor in Norfolk chatted to Kate about
their rural life. "Kate was saying she enjoyed taking
the children to the beach," Charles Farrow says.
"The beaches near us are perfect if you want to be
quite quiet."
Farrow, who's vice-president of Norfolk and
Norwich archeological society, asked William to
join them. "He said, 'I don't know anything about
archeology.' He was interested. I told him I would
give him lessons."
Then, about 40 minutes later, the Queen and Prince
Philip arrived in the Mall in their open-top Queen-
mobile, her cerise dress making her stand out
above the crowd.
William was called on to make a speech, and used
the occasion to prose the woman he calls "granny."
"My family has had plenty of reason to celebrate
since the Queen turned 90 in April: the Queen's
strong health and relentless energy; her sharp wit
and famous sense of humor; and the fact that The
Queen remains very much at the helm of our family,
our nation and the Commonwealth.
"The Queen at 90 is the one Head of State that
world leaders can turn to for a first-hand
perspective of the arc of history over the last six
decades. At 90, The Queen is the leader of our
country, who we all look up to in good times and in
challenging moments to set an example, and to
guide the way ahead.
"But the reason we are here today is to celebrate a
role that matters just as much to The Queen as the
one that she holds on the world stage.
"We are here to celebrate The Queen as Patron. Her
commitment to the more than 600 charities to
which she lends her name and support is
unwavering."
And he added, "Before I finish, I hope you won't
mind if I say a personal thank you to The Queen –
and to do so on behalf of all her grandchildren –
and great-grandchildren. Granny, thank you for
everything you have done for your family. We could
not wish you a happier birthday."
The Queen made her own thanks to the patronages
who were there in their thousands. And ended with
a joke about the year of celebrations.
"I much appreciate the kindness of all your birthday
wishes, and have been delighted and moved by the
many cards and messages I have received. How I
will feel if people are still singing 'Happy Birthday'
to me in December, remains to be seen!"
Stretching out almost as far as Her Majesty's eye
could see on the historic Mall in London was a
massive feast of food and wine from the picnic
hampers given to the $215-a-head guests.
That meant 33,000 cups of tea, 20,000 slices of
bread making the 40,000 sandwich triangles and
more than 5,000 jugs of English spirit Pimm's. And
12,500 ponchos were packed too, in case of
seasonal showers – and good thing they were, as
rain did come down.
"You can't get more British than this. Rain, ice
cream and Buckingham Palace," guest Claire
Connick said.
They were at the party after buying tickets, rather
than coming via a charity affiliated to one of the
Queen's charities.
Wearing a long dress in a Union flag design was
Lucinda Partridge, one of 18 supporters of the
Anglo-Belgian Society which was set up in WWII to
help Belgians fleeing the war.
"The weather doesn't deter us. It's fun – and been
hugely well-organized," she said.
Also in the crowd: Prince Albert of Monaco, who
chatted with Prince Andrew and his daughters and
later to Prince Edward.
"I'm having a great time," he told reporters.
"It's wonderful to be here to celebrate with friends
from Monaco and from the U.K."
Of the Queen, he adds, "Of course she's very
respected the world over but we have such an
important British community in Monaco.
"It's wonderful to be able to join our British friends
in the celebration." He said about the atmosphere:
"It's very relaxed and the rain hasn't hampered the
spirits here at all."
The food was certainly bountiful. Provided by
Marks & Spencer, the wicker hampers handed to
each guest included a Scottish smoked salmon
mousse, Pembrokeshire chicken salad, mini
Piccalilli pork pie and British Windsor Apple Juice.
Giving the mousse an extra special royal touch, the
salmon was slow-smoked over wood chips from an
oak tree grown on the Queen's Sandringham estate
in Norfolk.
The Queen and Prince Philip (who himself
celebrated a landmark 95th birthday on Friday)
were joined by Prince William, Princess Kate and
Prince Harry.
The brainchild of Queen's eldest grandson, Peter
Phillips, the Patron's Lunch celebrated the 600
organizations with formal links with the Queen.
"It's a chance for them to herald her contribution to
their work, as well as to let the world know about
all that they have achieved during her long life," he
wrote in The Telegraph magazine last week.
At the center of the lunch celebrations was a
carnival-like parade in which 1,500 volunteers
performed themed tributes reflecting the Queen's
64-year reign – with the procession headed by a
replica of the Queen's favorite, now-
decommissioned, Royal Yacht, the Britannia . (The
Queen famously shed a tear when the boat was
decommissioned, not to be replaced, by the
government in 1997.)
The Queen's son and immediate heir, Prince
Charles, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
took the celebrations out into the country by
heading to Gloucestershire, for the Big Lunch – an
annual event started by the Eden Project to get as
many people as possible to have lunch together
with their neighbors.
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