THERE was no dispute about the belle of this particular ball. And there was
nothing to indicate that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was just six weeks
away from her 100th birthday as she led the quadruple royal birthday
celebrations into the early hours of yesterday morning at Windsor Castle.
Some guests had already sneaked away to their
cars or hopped aboard the shuttle bus service to
Buckingham Palace by the time the Queen Mother,
wearing a mint green evening gown, finally retired
at 1.15am. She had managed to resist the
temptation to dance to three different bands and a
disco but she was determined to meet as many of
the 800 guests as possible as she strolled through
the party.
From foreign royalty to sporting stars and almost the entire racing
establishment, they packed the great state rooms of Windsor. Most guests
had eaten elsewhere at dinner parties or restaurants while a chosen few had
been invited to the pre-ball dinner in honour of the four birthdays - the Queen
Mother's 100th, Princess Margaret's 70th, The Princess Royal's 50th and the
Duke of York's 40th.
At 10.00pm, the ball began with dancing in the Waterloo Chamber. The star
turn was Lester Lanin and his orchestra, particular favourites of the Queen
and veterans of several royal parties. They were followed by Graham Dalby
and the Grahamophones and then the Chance Band who pumped out pop
classics into the early hours.
Elsewhere, younger guests including Zara Phillips, the Princess Royal's
daughter, and Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince and Princess
Michael of Kent, danced to the Chance Disco in the Queen's Presence
Chamber. At one point Mr Lanin was joined on stage by the lyricist, Sir Tim
Rice, who performed a respectable Mick Jagger impersonation with his
rendition of It's All Over Now.
The Queen maintained a keen pace, dancing until 2.30am with Prince Philip.
Former racing driver Jackie Stewart was among other partners. When not
dancing, guests headed for the bars in St George's Hall, the Grand Reception
Room, the Queen's Guards Chamber and the King Charles II Dining Room.
From 11.30pm, a choice of cooked or Continental breakfast was served in St
George's Hall, the Grand Reception Room and the Queen's Guards
Chamber.
One guest said last night: "It was incredibly informal and, at the same time,
rather magical. You just walked from room to room bumping into prince after
prince having a great time." Almost every member of the extended Royal
Family was there, except for those of school age. Although it was the actual
18th birthday of Prince William, his A-levels took precedence.
The four adult celebrants had each invited their own collection of friends and
the Queen had asked most of the royal houses of Europe. King Constantine
of Greece, the Landgrave of Hesse and several Hohenloe-Langenburgs were
joined by golfer Nick Faldo, television presenter Bamber Gascoigne, jockey
Richard Dunwoody and the Dean of Windsor.
While injuries to her feet kept Princess Margaret in a wheelchair for much of
the evening, she had many old friends such as her former boyfriend, Roddy
Llewellyn, to keep her company. It also meant a return to the Windsor fold
for the Duchess of York who had been invited on the Duke's list rather than
the Queen's.
Although the guest list placed her with the non-royal guests - she was third
from bottom of 800 names as "York, Sarah, Duchess of" - she appeared to
be enjoying herself with the best of them in the same dress she had worn the
day before to the Serpentine Gallery.
~*~
Camilla arrives with Prince for Palace
dinner(Electronic Telegraph)
By Robert Hardman
CAMILLA Parker Bowles was at the side of the Prince of Wales last night as
they arrived at Buckingham Palace for a charity dinner which further
underlines her gradual acceptance into the royal fold.
While royal aides were making clear that Mrs Parker Bowles was not,
formally, the hostess at the dinner for 100 American supporters of the Prince
of Wales Foundation, she took the unprecedented step of arriving with the
Prince. On the only previous occasion that she has attended a charity dinner
at the Palace, Mrs Parker Bowles arrived separately from the Prince and kept
a low profile at what was a much smaller occasion. Last night, she enjoyed
considerably more prominence, although she was not part of the official
receiving line.
The Queen was not in residence and remained at Windsor for Royal Ascot.
But she was well aware that Mrs Parker Bowles would be attending with the
Prince. Nor were any other members of the Royal Family present for the
dinner which was a "thank you" to the principal benefactors of the foundation.
After a guided tour of the state apartments, the guests sat down for dinner at
one long table in the Palace's Picture Gallery and heard a short after-dinner
speech from the Prince.
The guest list included many of the leading society figures from America
including Betsy Bloomingdale and Leonard Lauder, the New York socialites,
Sid Bass, the Texan oil magnate, and his wife, Mercedes, Christopher and
Robert Forbes - the sons of the late publishing billionaire Malcolm Forbes -
and Robert Trump, the property developing brother of Donald, and his wife,
Blaine.
Earlier in the day, the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles attended the opening of
the Wallace Collection Millennium Project at Hertford House, London, where
the Prince, a keen painter, showed particular interest in watercolours by
Richard Parkes Bonington and the Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals. The
Prince, the chairman of the Trustees of the Royal Collection, described how,
on his last visit to the gallery at Hertford House as a boy, he was reprimanded
for touching a sculpture.
He said: "I came here when I was quite young and I remember being
admonished for trying to touch one of the sculptures, which has remained
deeply embedded in my subconscious." The Prince said his
great-great-grandfather had opened the Wallace Collection exactly 100 years
ago today.
He said: "Not that I can do it in anything like the same style. The then Prince
of Wales was accompanied by six members of his family and what sounds
like most of the House of Lords. He stayed for two and a half hours. His
remarks were greeted with cheers - their conclusion with loud cheers." The
Prince began his tour of the collection alone. Mrs Parker Bowles, dressed in a
lilac suit, joined the tour at a discreet distance soon afterwards. It included the
study centre, lecture theatre and courtyard.
John Lewis, the chairman of the Wallace Collection's trustees, said: "He
showed a remarkable knowledge about many of the paintings." The Prince cut
a red and yellow ribbon to open the collection of 5,470 works of fine and
decorative art ranging from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The project was
made possible by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £7.2 million. The Prince
and Mrs Parker Bowles later left together.
The Wallace Collection was a gift in 1897 to the nation from Lady Wallace,
the wife of Sir Richard Wallace, the fourth Marquess of Hertford.
~*~
King Juan Carlos
takes delivery of his
new royal yacht (The Guardian)
Adela Gooch in Madrid
Spain's King Juan Carlos has had to wait
almost 10 years for his new yacht but this
summer he will finally be able to indulge
his taste for speed on a floating pleasure
palace.
The Fortuna was formally handed over
earlier this week to a state body that
owns royal palaces and other chattels, in
a low key ceremony in Majorca, where the
Spanish royals take their August break.
The 41-metre (136ft) yacht was described
as "a formula one prototype, incorporating
state of the art technology and prestige
accoutrements" by Javier Arce, head of
the state-owned shipyard that built it. It
includes seven cabins, a specially
commissioned portrait of the king and
royal monogrammed linen.
The 3bn peseta (£11m) bill will not be
footed by the Spanish taxpayer. Instead
Majorca businessmen, mainly in the
tourist industry, a couple of banks and
utilities clubbed together to buy it. It was,
they felt, a way of acknowledging the
prestige King Juan Carlos brings the
Balearic islands by holidaying there. The
regional government chipped in £1.7m.
The new yacht's unveiling - elegant lines,
gleaming decks and tinted windows - was
greeted without demur by the Spanish
press, which printed photographs and
factual articles but no opinion. That
reflects, in part, the circumspection
always shown towards the royal family.
Spain is not a profoundly monarchist
country but King Juan Carlos is credited
with safeguarding the democratic process
and any attack on him is seen as a threat
to Spain's hard won stability. The king
himself has also chosen with care the
moment to accept his new toy. In 1991,
when Spain was sinking into recession
and a series of financial corruption
scandals were emerging, he refused a
replacement yacht which had already
been ordered.
Since then he has had to struggle on with
the original Fortuna, a present from King
Fahd of Saudi Arabia in 1979. Smaller and
slower, it turned into a security threat,
leaving the royals stranded at sea more
than once.
However, a low key debate rumbled on, in
marked contrast to the furore over
Britannia's possible replacement.
Proponents argued that a yacht was a
useful public relations tool. Foreign
dignitaries like President and Mrs Clinton,
who enjoyed a day at sea on Fortuna with
their daughter Chelsea in 1997, could be
profitably entertained.
Opponents, including members of the
Communist party and Republicans,
criticised the king for accepting a gift from
"a lobby group of businessmen" that
included a German magnate, in keeping
with a large German presence on
Majorca.
But with the country enjoying an
economic boom, Spaniards seem willing
to indulge their monarch. They like the
royals to be middle class but glamorous
and forgive King Juan Carlos his
occasional playboy tendencies.
Last summer, their pride was dented
when the billionaire Miller family, in-laws
of the former King Constantine of Greece
who is brother to the Spanish queen,
floated around Majorca in their
mega-yacht as did the Italian fashion
designer Valentino who played host to top
models. The king was reduced to racing
on his catamaran.
There will be rich pickings too for Hola
readers. Juan Carlos was once snapped
sunbathing in the buff on the old Fortuna;
Crown Prince Felipe was found frolicking
in the waves with the only serious
girlfriend he is known to have had. It's a
fair bet that this year the paparazzi will be
all at sea.