Lolling in London: A Royal Day Out at Buckingham Palace

"What madness!"

When I saw the hordes gathered outside the gates and at the Victoria Memorial, my first thought was, “What madness!” Then I had to fight the strong urge to turn and walk away, in search of a café where I could park myself and have a lovely breakfast unblemished by rabid tourists, while my mind wrestled over the dilemma of leaving or staying and doing the ‘tourist’ thing. In the end, the ‘tourist’ thing won because (1) I’m already here, (2) it’s once in a lifetime and I’m MOST probably never doing it again and (3) I’m one of those rabid tourists as well.

I am obviously part of that horde.

I thought we were early enough. The changing of guards is at 11:30am and we arrived at 11am. But of course, I have overlooked how eager and enthusiastic tourists can be, and they would have flocked there before the sun has risen. We were the lousy, semi-enthusiastic ones, who will try to wrangle our way to the front of the gates/fences and try to catch a glimpse of the furry-hatted ones stomping around. If I’m being totally honest, the crowd is just ridiculous because all we were there for is to see a group of men change shifts (the proper name, I learnt, is Guard Mounting).

I wonder what goes through his mind as he performs his duty.

I wonder how Guard Mounting got to be such a huge deal. One personal hypothesis is that they turned a really drab-and-ordinary change-of-shift into a spectacle, aided by their flashy uniforms, their tummy-in-chest-out marching, their horses (who are, incidentally, trotting with their chests out as well) and the perky marching band. It is all very grand, very ceremonial and absurdly abnormal. But in all honestly, I think the real appeal lies in their furry hats. I won’t say explain why, because I might offend the Royal Guards, and their legion of fans, so let’s just leave it*. But I do recognise that Guard Mounting is a timeless tradition that has been going on for years. So it does deserve some respect.

*At the time of posting I could not remember why I wrote that the universal appeal of the Guard Mounting lies in their furry-hats. Dang~

So, there I was, trying my best to find a spot, any spot actually, where I could get a clear shot without breaking my neck (from overstretching). It is with the utmost difficulty that I managed to squeeze into the crowd and get a semi-decent spot. Actually it is a wasted exercise. Here’s a tip for future tourists heading to Buckingham Palace: just stand under the cool shades of the trees at the park beside and wait it out. The whole ceremony lasts about 45 minutes and how many damn shots do you want to get of a single ceremony? All the pictures will look the same! After about 20-30 minutes, people will start trickling away from the gate/fence and you can wade right in and grab your shots. The good thing about being on the outside at the start is that you can take pictures of the marching band and the men-on-horses as they enter the palace gates from the outside. Then once you are proud owners of those shots that most people won’t get because they are too focussed on the inside, stand and wait under the cool shades. Enter only when you see people leaving and there you have it, the complete photographic proof of you having been to witness the greatest procession on earth. Remember, I am not dissing the tourists who are there, I am one of them and also a proud owner of semi-decent photographic proofs of the world’s greatest procession, which you will get to see later.

Actually not later, but now.

The marching band entertaining us with some famous tunes. 

Enough about the Guard Mounting. Let’s get back to the title of this post. Sounds grand and a tad pretentious right? Disclaimer: I didn’t come up with the name. Royal Day Out is a ticket package that gives you admission to The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace, The Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews. You are not allowed to take pictures in The State Rooms (so no visuals, boo~). I will try to describe The State Rooms a little though. Each room is colour-themed and furnished accordingly. You have lots of sofas and cushions and side tables and fireplaces with various decorative objects displayed on the mantelpieces. You have lots of paintings in gilded frames and ceiling murals and plants in pots and plants in vases. You have lots of floor-to-ceiling windows that offer splendid views of the grounds outside and cornices and busts and statues. You have lots of velvet and linen and marble and stone. You have all these things and everything will be aligned with the colour scheme, from the carpets to the sofa upholstery to the lampshades to the curtains. It’s amazing how coordinated everything is. Mainly, the State Rooms are grand and decadent.

Nonetheless, I did take plenty of photos at The Queen’s Gallery (which I will not post because there’s too much and it’s all just paintings and old furniture anyway), the Royal Mews (the stables where the horses and carriages – some carriages are really grand – are kept and managed) and the expansive garden inside the palace grounds. They also have living quarters within the palace grounds, for the staff and servants in the Queen’s employment.

At the period when we were there, they were showcasing the Queen’s childhood. So we got a glimpse into the Queen’s childhood with her younger sister and her family. We got to see the accoutrements that she grew up with (dolls, toys, bicycles, sleds, garments, shoes, etc.). I assumed that they will change the palace exhibition now and then, so it might be a different showcase now.

Without further ado, I present to you my Royal Day Out at Buckingham Palace. I must apologise that there are no pictures of The State Rooms, the Queen’s Gallery and the childhood exhibition.

On the way to catch the greatest phenomenon on earth!

It's a beautiful day.

The entrance to the Queen's Gallery.

First carriage that you will see at the Royal Mews.

The is the most opulent carriage ever.

Stables where horses were kept. The Queen had a hand in naming each and every horse kept at the Royal Mews. The names are then written on green plaques and hung at the stables.

You learn how to ride a horse here.

The expansive garden inside palace grounds.

Get your tickets to Buckingham Palace at the Royal Collection Trust website: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace