110505-mg-a glimpse of the royal wedding

7/28/2019 110505-MG-A Glimpse of the Royal Wedding

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A Glimpse Of The Royal

Wedding

Yesterday, just a month before Prince William marries KateMiddleton, palace officials offered a glimpse of the venue andthe team working round the clock to ensure their big day goeswithout a hitch.

Those lucky enough to have been invited, will have access to19 state rooms, decorated in opulent style, following the

Westminster Abbey ceremony on April 29.


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Feast your eyes : Exquisitely decorated with red silk damask, thewalls of the State Dining Room make a fitting background for theportraits of sovereigns from throughout history. Countlessdignitaries, including presidents and prime ministers, have dinedhere

Grandeur : Prince William and Kate Middleton's guests will be drinking anddining in opulence.


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The Blue Drawing Room was the venue for the first State Ball held at thePalace in 1838 before Queen Victoria's coronation. It has 30 fake onyx

columns and a table made for Napoleon


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Fit for a queen : A portrait of Edward VII's wife Queen Alexandrahangs in the White Drawing Room, the grandest of the state

rooms overlooking the gardens. A secret door leading to privaterooms allows for a discreet Royal entrance

Opulent : The lavishly decorated White Drawing Room will be oneof the rooms used during the wedding reception of Prince William

and Kate Middleton


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Magnificent : The finest crystal chandeliers hang from the ornateceiling of the Blue Drawing Room, which will see dozens of guests

mingle during the reception


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Splendour : The White Drawing Room includes a stunning chandelier andfurniture lined with gold upholster. The room will be one of many others


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used in the wedding reception, while right, Edward Griffiths, Deputy Masterof the Household, stands in the room, recognisable by its intricate carpet

On the walls will be Old Masters brought out from the vaults ofthe Royal Collection in honour of the couple, who will no doubtappreciate their finer points as they met studying history of artat St. Andrews University. The focus of the reception will be the

picture gallery, where the wedding cake a traditional multi-tiered fruit cake will be on display surrounded with works byCanaletto, Rembrandt and Rubens.Guests will also be able to wander through areas normallyreserved for heads of state and other dignitaries in the palaceswest wing, including the White and Blue Drawing Rooms, theMusic Room and State Dining Room, all of which date back to the1820s.Remarkably, just 60 staff, from chefs and footmen tohousekeepers, will be on duty catering for up to 900 guests. ButEdward Griffiths, deputy master of the household, whosedepartment is responsible for all hospitality, says his staff arewell drilled. Guests will be offered champagne and canapes fromthe moment they arrive, he explained.Their glasses will be topped up throughout the day although thePrince and his new wife plan to stick to soft drinks (bar a glass ofchampagne for the toasts) until later, it is understood. TheQueens head chef Mark Flanagan admitted his team would beunder pressure but was confident his 21-strong staff who

produce 550 meals a day when the Queen is in residence wereup to the task. The cooks will be using copper pots to create thewedding breakfast, some of which were first used 190 years agoduring the reign of George IV. Mr. Flanagan would not revealdetails about what they planned to serve but promised to usethe best of British and source much of it from the Queensgardens and estates. Each canape is made to be consumed injust two bites.


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A taste of things to come ? Could guests be munching on quails'eggs served with celery salt (seen left) ? Meanwhile, demi chefde partie Shaun Mason is hard at work preparing thousands of

intricately designed sweets

Delicious treats : A chef of the Royal Household at BuckinghamPalace, London, holds a tray of canapes, like those that may be

served at the Royal Wedding


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Collection : Wine glasses used during royal receptions are linedup at Buckingham Palace, and next, a copper cooking pot that is

still in use today and bears the markings ofKing George IV sits on a rack in the kitchens at Buckingham

Palace


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Fine art : Jennifer Scott, Assistant Curator of Paintings, looks upat a Canaletto from 1723 in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham

Palace, which will be one of the rooms used during the wedding


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reception and next, a Rubens self portrait from 1623 in thePicture Gallery


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Decadent : Jennifer Scott sits underneath the Peter Paul Rubenspainting Winter (bottom centre) in the Picture Gallery, which will

be used during the wedding reception

Song and dance : Palace Steward Nigel McEvoy walks through theMusic Room, which has seen some of the history's finest pianists


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play their music on the ornate grand piano and which will be usedduring the wedding reception

110505-mg-a glimpse of the royal wedding

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