Hollie Trezise, Dr Oli Rahman, Donna Holland and Rhian Walsh at the Garden Party
This week we had the honour of attending His Majesty King Charles’ first garden party at Buckingham Palace since he became monarch.
The King, along with Queen Camilla, welcomed thousands of specially invited guests to the party, which took place on 3 May in celebration of the upcoming Coronation.
King Charles talking to Lionel Richie
As guests of our Royal Patron, Princess Alexandra, we were lucky enough to have four representatives from the charity attend the event: Donna Holland, CEO of Rockinghorse, Dr Oli Rahman, Chair of Rockinghorse and Paediatric Consultant at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, Rhian Walsh, Finance and Operations Director and Hollie Trezise, Community Fundraising Manager.
Along with The King and Queen Consort, other members of the Royal Family were also in attendance, including the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Among the guests were dozens of the Queen Consort’s Coronation Champions Awards winners, rewarding 500 of the country’s most dedicated volunteers, organised by the Royal Voluntary Service.
Camilla, Queen Consort, greeting guests
These Royal Garden Parties date back to Queen Victoria’s reign but came to be closely associated with the late Queen Elizabeth II during her 70-year-reign and give the monarch the chance to meet a wide range of charity workers and community volunteers in the beautiful surroundings of Buckingham Palace.
This is the first event of its kind that representatives from Rockinghorse have attended since 2018, following our Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2017.
The team arrived at the Palace for the 3.00pm start and were greeting by music provided by two military bands who played throughout the afternoon. They then waited for the arrival of the King and other Members of the Royal Family who arrived and were presented to some of the guests, including music legend Lionel Richie.
A selection of the delicious afternoon tea served at the event
The Gentlemen at Arms then formed the crowd into lanes so The King and Member of the Royal Family could move through the rest of the guests.
Following this the guests were treated to a delicious afternoon tea which included sandwiches, scones, delicious cakes and some special Twining’s Garden Party tea.
All in all it was a fabulous event and a great experience for the team. Donna said, “It was a real honour to be invited to the Garden Party, especially as it’s so close to the Coronation. We are incredibly proud to be one of HRH Princess Alexandra’s chosen charities and to be here to represent the whole organisation, and the community we support, at such a prestigious event.”
Rhian added, “It was so wonderful to be invited by HRH Princess Alexandra to the Coronation Garden Party! We had a wonderful afternoon and seeing His Majesty the King and the Queen Consort was so special and a memory I will treasure forever.”
What a great afternoon, and one which the team will never forget!
