Queen Elizabeth threw a garden party for 3000 people yesterday (15.07.08).


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The monarch hosted the event at Buckingham Palace and it was the second of three garden parties to take place there this summer.

Wearing a brocade dress and jacket with a blue floral design by Kelly and Pordum with a hat designed by Rachel Trevor-Morgan, the queen was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent, the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

The queen stood on the steps as a band marked her arrival with a rendition of the National Anthem, before spending an hour mingling with guests over tea, sandwiches and cake.

Jeanette Appleton, 47, who runs the Our Lady Star of the Sea Youth Theatre in Lancashire, said she was “stunned” by the occasion.

A group of scouting leaders from Wales also spoke to the queen. They included Andrew Davies, 42, who is a District Commissioner for Explorer Scouts in the Afon District and his wife Ruth, 42, who is a Beaver leader in Creigiau.

The group said they were impressed by the monarch’s knowledge of scouting.