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Next in the procession the Australian State Carriage
carried the Duke of Edinburgh, and the President’s
wife Mrs Mary Tan. The Scottish State Coach
followed with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
and Singaporean Minister Grace Fu and then three
more state coaches and four semi-state landaus
carried various Singaporean Ministers and the
British High Commissioner at Singapore Antony
Phillipson. Accompanied by mounted royal horse
guards the carriage procession travelled along
The Mall which, as is the tradition, was lined with
the flags of Britain and Singapore.
Attention to Detail
The Queen personally oversees all the arrangements
for guests in her London home. Singapore's High
Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ms Foo Chi
Hsia was both impressed and surprised. At a
reception for Singaporeans living in Britain she said:
I believe one thing that struck all of us, members
of the delegation, was the very special warmth and
affection with which all of us were received by the
Queen, who personally oversaw all aspects of the
visit. We heard that she personally inspected every
one of the guest rooms in Buckingham Palace, not
just the presidential suite, but all the way (down)
to the staff members. She personally oversaw all
the preparations for the state banquet and walked
through the entire banquet before the event itself.
Every single member of the society that received
us and helped us during the visit went beyond the
normal niceties of state and official visits, and all
these underscored the very special relationship
that (Britain and Singapore) share.
The Ultimate in Room Service
Arriving at the Palace the Tan’s luggage had already
been taken to the Belgian Suite and they’d have had
their first chance to have a look around their appointed
accommodation for the next two nights. The three
principal rooms of the suite are furnished in a style
that gives the visiting head of State an idea of how
British Royalty lived in previous centuries. The main
18
th
century sitting room is painted yellow with
three-quarter-length paintings of King George III
and Queen Charlotte alongside works by Canaletto
and Gainsborough. The blue Orleans Bedroom has
two canopied beds and three pictures of Queen
Victoria. Two paintings of Napoleon Bonaparte hang
in the Spanish Room which is the third and smallest
room within the suite and is used as a dressing room.
Members of the Royal Household will have liaised
with their opposite numbers from the visiting guests’
household to find out what flowers, books and
toiletries the guests favour. Her Majesty will inspect
the suite before the arrival and an equerry is designated
to advise on the protocol of the Court. And the ultimate
in room service? Two liveried footmen will sit outside
the door of the Belgian Suite throughout the night in
case the guests should need or want for anything.
A Royal Guided Tour
During their first afternoon at Buckingham Palace
back in October 2014 the Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh showed President Tan and his wife around
the Picture Gallery, which is one of the nineteen State
Apartments opened each summer. Some fifty yards
long The Picture Gallery was created by architect John
Nash in the 1820s when he was turning Buckingham
