We took a private tour of Buckingham Palace this evening. We toured all of the State Rooms, including the ballroom with Kate’s dress. We saw the Faberge collection. We were in the throne room. From July 23rd until October 3rd the general public can tour the Palace if tickets are purchased. Jan opted for the smaller, private tour. With so many people going through the Palace, especially during this hot stretch, you’d think the Palace staff would work out restrooms. When you are on a private tour that is arranged. One of the staff who walks around with the group will escort you to one of the Palace bathrooms. They wait outside and return you to the group. I made sure to put the seat back down just in case Her Majesty needed to use the loo.
Before we went to the Palace we checked out the Crown Jewels at the Towers of London. I’ve never seen such a large diamond in all my life. The sovereign’s scepter contains a 530 carat diamond. It is part of a larger diamond discovery, measured at over 3,400 carats. That’s’ bling. During the history of the towers several individuals were beheaded on the grounds. We were far more fortunate. We received an informative tour and history lesson from one of the Beefeaters.
We returned to the Towers at night to witness the Ceremony of the Keys, where the doors are locked with the same kind of pomp and ceremony as the Royal Changing of the Guards. In between all of that we visited the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square and walked through St. James park.
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