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Downing Street at the other end of St James’s Park
in all of twenty minutes
and
stop to feed the ducks.
Every year since she came to the throne in 1952,
the Queen has invited two heads of State to stay
at either Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or
Holyrood but it’s usually at Buckingham Palace.
Guests have ranged from the super wealthy Sultan
of Brunei to shipyard electrician Lech Wałęsa who
became President of Poland. It doesn’t matter who
they are or where they come from, once invited
each guest is treated in an identical fashion according
to a strict protocol. Regardless of whether their
country is the most powerful nation on Earth or the
tiniest – the hospitality and accommodation is exactly
the same.
A Tried & Tested Formula
State Visits normally begin with a ceremonial
welcome attended by The Queen and other senior
members of the Royal Family. If the guest is staying
at Buckingham Palace, this welcome takes place on
Horse Guards Parade. For official State Visits the
order of events follows a tried and trusted formula:
a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards, a carriage
procession along the Mall to Buckingham Palace,
a guided tour and two nights full board including
a State Banquet at the Palace and another banquet
at Guildhall hosted by the Lord Mayor of London.
In October of last year the President of Singapore,
Dr Tony Tan, made that country’s first state visit
to London with his wife Mary. Kate, The Duchess
of Cambridge, pregnant with her second child and
in her sixth week of acute morning sickness, took part
in her first official state visit when she joined Prince
William to greet President Tan and his wife at the
Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington and then travelled
with them by car to Horse Guards Parade to make
their first appearance at a ceremonial welcome for
a visiting head of state. The striking height difference
between the tall young Royal couple and the much
shorter Singaporean guests led The Sun newspaper
to describe Dr Tan as the
Prime Miniature
.
A footnote at the bottom of the photo added:
Actually he’s the president but that wouldn’t have
made a funny headline.
A complaint was made to the British High
Commissioner of Singapore about the headline
by a Singaporean resident in the UK. The complaint
led the newspaper to comment that:
We would urge any Singaporeans offended by the
headline to consider whether their ire should instead
be directed at their government who prevent proper
freedom of expression by controlling the media.
A Raft of Military Chiefs
David Cameron, Theresa May, the Home Secretary,
Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, a raft of
military chiefs and Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the
Met Police commissioner were also at Horse Guards
Parade to welcome the President. After inspecting
a guard of honour the visiting party then travelled
with The Queen in a carriage procession back to
Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Dr Tan led
the way in the grandest carriage of all, drawn by six
white horses in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach.
This carriage was first used at the State Opening of
Parliament in June 2014 and is the newest state coach
in the royal fleet kept pristine at the Royal Mews.
