Arriving at Buckingham Palace!

OK, I promised all of you, my readers, that I would share all of the details of this very special day with you. From the process of getting ready, to arriving at the Palace, to attending the Garden Party and then leaving the Palace. Are you ready for the ride of your life? Well, here we go:

After a good night’s sleep, I woke up early to begin the process of getting ready to attend the Queen’s Garden Party. I really cannot say that too many times, it just sounds so amazing. Steve stayed in bed until I showered and then he began getting ready for this unbelievable event. As excited as we both were, we were still able to stay calm and relaxed saving the high emotions and energy for later.

Getting ready really was a process. I began by laying out all of my make-up, newly bought so brand new for the occasion. Steve looked at it all and said, “I do not think that the Queen has this much stuff” which made me laugh. As I carefully applied the foundation, the powder, the eye shadow, the eyeliner, the mascara and then the lip liner and lip gloss, my thoughts were running wild thinking about what I was getting ready to attend, and that in a few hours we will be seeing the Queen. I have been waiting for this moment for years. I have been visiting England to see my relatives since I was 13 years old and I would imagine and daydream about meeting the Queen one day. And here I was getting ready for that moment. So I guess that you could say that I was preparing for this moment for almost forty years.

Now that I had my make-up perfectly applied, I did my hair.  Styling it in a way that would allow my hat to sit at just the right angle on my head.

It’s time to put on my clothes, one piece at a time. First the Spanks pantyhose, the skirt, the bustier, being careful not to mess up my make-up, then the jacket, the shoes and to top it all off, the hat paying careful attention to its placement on my head.  Let’s not forget the jewellery and the small matching handbag that I filled with the few necessary items for the day. Now the excitement is showing and my energy level is beginning to rise. Meanwhile Steve is now fully dressed in his black silk suit, white dress shirt and his tie that was custom made to match my outfit. We both took one more look in the mirror and off we went to get our taxi to Buckingham Palace.

The taxi driver dropped us off as close to the main gate as possible, as the roads around the Palace were closed due to the setting up of the Jubilee Concert over the coming weekend. As we exited the taxi, tourists all around stopped to look at us all dressed up. Many knew that we were going to the Palace. My hat was a definite give away.  As we walked arm in arm to the Palace gate we felt very special, and it really sank in what was about to take place.

Steve and I decided to arrive extra early at Buckingham Palace to be close to the front of the line. What we found was that we were the first two people in the queue of 7000+ people that would follow us into the Palace. Were we excited or what? A lady approached us and said, “You look like you are attending the Queen’s Garden Party” and I replied, ”Yes we are.” She told us that the official photographer will take pictures of us at the Palace gate and a few other poses. Steve and I looked at each other and said alright to her. He was wearing a picture badge around his neck and I asked for his business card which he gave me. Then he had me fill in a small form with our names and address (no phone number or email address). He took four different poses and then asked us for twenty pounds cash. Again, Steve and I looked at each other as Steve took his wallet out and handed him a twenty pound note. The photographer then told us to expect the pictures next week and he walked off. It was like the movie “European Vacation” with Chevy Chase, wondering if our £20 gamble would pay off. Shortly after that a few more couples joined us in line.  They had also had their pictures taken by the same photographer and they felt the same way. We all laughed and assumed that he was legitimate. We stood there for two hours getting to know each other, hearing their stories and making new friends. As the time passed we all started to feel the excitement, and you could feel the energy building within everyone in line.

It is now 2:30pm and the guard came to the main gate to tell us that he is ready to let us enter as he placed the key into the hole and turned it. As he opened the gate we were invited to enter into the front entrance area of Buckingham Palace. For security reasons we had to show our passport and personal invitation card. We walked in and stood in another queue to enter the Palace through the main entrance. OMG!