Attention Anglophiles! If last year’s magnificent Diamond Jubilee celebrations left your clients wanting more, plenty of pomp and pageantry is planned for this summer as London welcomes the Coronation Festival marking the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Events spanning four days from July 11 – 14 are to be held in Buckingham Palace’s gardens, which are rarely open to the public. Only a few tickets still remain for a first-of-its-kind festival, where over 200 companies with the Royal Warrant of Appointment (exclusive designation given only to firms that provide goods or services to the Royal Family) will showcase their wares ranging from food and drink to fashion, design and technology. Already sold-out are the evening Coronation Galas celebrating cultural life during the reign of Her Majesty, through music, dance and entertainment.
Luckily, top hotels are offering packages with access and other perks for Royal enthusiasts. For Gala access book Taj Hotels, 51 Buckingham Gate Coronation Package which includes two tickets to the Gala, two tickets to the Festival and a three-course Coronation commemorative menu for two at Bistro 51. The package is for two nights in a Junior Suite, and one day of stay must be on the 12th July [email protected]. For those who wish to be Queen for a moment and capture it forever, book the InterContinental London Park Lane “By Appointment” package where the photographer who took the official image of Queen Elizabeth II for her Diamond Jubilee, John Swanell and his team of stylists will compose a portrait in the hotel’s sumptuously redone Royal Suite. Price includes accommodation in the Royal Suite, limo transfers, Festival passes and must be booked in advance, call +44-207-4093131. For the Royal Warrant hotel experience, it’s none other than The Ritz’s Festival Fantastic package which includes tickets to the Festival plus champagne and canapés, a unique Ritz festival gift, dinner and breakfast.
To sample items that were part of the original Coronation banquet, head to Fortnum and Mason for the special Coronation Tea and enjoy mini beef wellington, Norfolk asparagus tartlet with hollandaise sauce and a smoked salmon and cucumber blini with sauce vierge and asparagus en croute and finish with an assortment of sweet treats, including Maids of Honour and Kent strawberries ; all of which were actually on the menu at the 1953 gala. Delectable fresh scones, clotted cream and an infinite selection of jams included too [email protected].
Check www.visitlondon.com for more information on Coronation events, including a summer long series of services, concerts and a special “CORONATION!” photography exhibit at Westminster Abbey.