Buckingham Palace Garden Party, St. James's Park, London

This is the garden party of the year and the best to be invited to. I went a few years ago and it was spectacular. It was hosted by The Queen. The experience starts as soon as you queue up with tourists taking photographs of all the invitees. You then enter the Palace and into the garden which is laid out with a number of marquees and two military bands playing. In the marquees there are sandwiches and small cakes on offer along with tea, coffee and home made lemonade. After everybody has eaten, the royal family enter the gardens and meet and greet people who are chosen from the crowd.

It was a privilege to be invited to this great event and The Queen was a great host.

Hosted by a member of the Royal Family, attendees are invited to attend a Garden Party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, usually to celebrate the achievements of a particular charity or organisation.

Security is, as one would expect, fairly tight, so entrance is strictly by invitation only, and only then if you can prove your identity at the gate. Queues can sometimes be long and arduous, which is no real surprise when 7,500 people are attending…

Once inside the gates, guests are lead through the main entrance to the Palace and then through two rooms which lead to the garden. Once out in the garden guests can obtain refreshments in the tea tent. Beverages are limited to tea and soft drinks; food on offer includes crustless cucumber sandwiches, Victoria sponge cake and little chocolate mousses with a crown emblem on top. Food quality is good and nobody minds if you go back for seconds.

Across the garden from the tea tent are two other tea tents: the Diplomatic Tea tent (for VIPs) and the Royal Tea Tent, for the Royal Family and VVIPs.

The gardens are more small park than back yard, featuring a lake with island, arboretum, rose garden and a 170 metre long herbaceous border; in the centre of the Rose Garden behind the Summer House sits a large marble vase originally made for Napoleon but given to the Palace by King Edward VII.

Given a warm, sunny day, a Royal Garden Party provides a unique opportunity to see a part of London that is not normally open to the public. Getting an invitation, unfortunately, may prove very difficult.