The day I saw Queen Elizabeth II (by Robert)

[caption id="attachment_1360" align="aligncenter" width="940"] This is the Queen approaching the Mall before she goes onto Parliament[/caption]

Yesterday, during my half-term break from school, Mum and I decided to have a nice day out in London. We went up to the London Eye and to the National Theatre (both posts coming soon!) and then,after a long day in the boiling hot sun, we went to rest in the Rubens Hotel, which was fantastic. One of the reasons it was so great was because it is literally opposite the Royal Mews entrance of Buckingham Palace.

In the morning, after a delicious breakfast, we went into the lounge which faces the Palace. Mum noticed there was no traffic on the road and lots of police officers were crowding around.

Then someone told us that it was the day the Queen was due to open Parliament and we heard a rumour that the British Monarch was soon going to leave to go to Westminster. So, we stayed in the room (called the Palace Lounge!) and anxiously peered out of the window.

[caption id="attachment_1361" align="aligncenter" width="768"] This is our view from the Rubens Hotel, of the Royal Mews[/caption]

A crowd was beginning to appear outside and soon we could see horses with carriages plodding around inside the Palace grounds.

After about ten minutes and lots of views of random horses, the gates opened. Surrounded by police from all angles, carriages left Buckingham Palace and started to begin a journey left. Nearly all of the carriages were empty except a few. Someone said one contained Prince Philip, but I am not sure.

After all the horses had gone, followed by some big cars, the crowd started to leave to walk to the front of Buckingham Palace. Not wishing to miss the possibility of seeing the Queen, Mum and I left hurriedly and followed the mob.

[caption id="attachment_1362" align="aligncenter" width="940"] It was strange to see Buckingham Palace without lots of traffic driving around it![/caption]

We came to the front of Buckingham Palace. I couldn't believe how many people were there. The queue went on forever, but it was strange because the roads were blocked off, so there was no traffic.

We stood with a clear view near the entrance, but then luckily a policeman notified us that the Queen would no be going anywhere near us if we stayed there, so we walked further up. He told us to go and stand on the Mall as she would be coming around the Fountain and then down that road.

[caption id="attachment_1364" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Someone kindly gave me a flag to wave![/caption]

For the next half an hour, soldiers with bayonets, and horses went by. Then Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, appeared in a black car with a crown on the top smiling and waving. She drove into the Palace, so perhaps she had been somewhere else that morning.

At around 10.45am we heard the national anthem playing and then a carriage came by carrying Prince Charles, the future king. Everyone cheered and he smiled. He looked very happy.

[caption id="attachment_1363" align="aligncenter" width="940"] This is Prince Charles![/caption]

Finally, at around 11am, and after lots of shouting by the soldiers in front of us, the national anthem started playing again and a golden carriage trailed after a massive group of soldiers. Inside that carriage was my monarch, the Queen.

[caption id="attachment_1365" align="aligncenter" width="940"] This is the Queen! Can you recognise her?[/caption]

She looked out of the window and did the royal wave thing. It was so cool seeing royalty.

Normally I would say something like "it was a brilliant day out" or "you should definitely go.". But I cannot really say that about this experience. However, if you go to the Rubens hotel in London, always be on the lookout. You never know who you might see.

More history:

The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London

An awesome visit to Hever Castle (with video!)

 

London In The Summer With Kids By Jess

We love London; no surprise there! Out of the four people living in our house, three of us have lived in London for their whole life, and we all agree that it is an incredible place to visit. Lately, our family have been involved in two amazing projects to do with London, and they both were wonderful experiences.

Mum and Rob meeting the "Lord Mayor", Morris (as opposed to Boris!)

Firstly, we were invited to go to the opening of Top Trumps: 30 Things To See In London, where they launched their newest theme - all about London!

My brother Robert loves Top Trumps, so we were all very excited to attend the launch. We discovered that the new game would have information about different landmarks in London, and that children and their parents would be able to use the Top Trumps as a kid friendly tour of the best places to go to in the city.

Rob on an old bus in the transport museum

First of all, we were greeted by the Night-Mayor in front of the London Transport Museum, and were given a sheet full of questions about London landmarks. For half an hour we looked around the museum, and learnt cool facts about trains, buses and more. After this, we went on a bus and saw sights such as Big Ben and Tower Bridge. The day finished with a trip up the Shard, which was looads of fun.

Another amazing experience that Rob and I loved was helping to film a video about the best things to do in London, which is here. We were asked to get involved by Bound Round.



It was a really strange experience to be filmed and talk to a camera, but it was loads of fun and we love the video. We hope you find it useful!

Read more posts about London:

A Great Trip To Buckingham Palace By Me

The London Dungeons By Robert

London In The Summer With Kids By Jess

We love London; no surprise there! Out of the four people living in our house, three of us have lived in London for their whole life, and we all agree that it is an incredible place to visit. Lately, our family have been involved in two amazing projects to do with London, and really enjoyed them both.

Mum and Rob meeting the "Lord Mayor", Morris (as opposed to Boris!)

Firstly, we were invited to go to the opening of Top Trumps: 30 Things To See In London, where they launched their newest theme - all about London!

My brother Robert loves Top Trumps, so we were all very excited to attend the launch. We discovered that the new game would have information about different landmarks in London, and that children and their parents would be able to use the Top Trumps as a kid friendly tour of the best places to go to in the city.

Rob on an old bus in the transport museum

First of all, we were greeted by the Night-Mayor in front of the London Transport Museum, and were given a sheet full of questions about London landmarks. For half an hour we looked around the museum, and learnt cool facts about trains, buses and more. After this, we went on a bus and saw sights such as Big Ben and Tower Bridge. The day finished with a trip up the Shard, which was looads of fun.

Another amazing experience that Rob and I loved was helping to film a video about the best things to do in London, which is here. We were asked to get involved by Bound Round.



It was a really strange experience to be filmed and talk to a camera, but it was loads of fun and we love the video. We hope you find it useful!

Read more posts about London:

A Great Trip To Buckingham Palace By Me

The London Dungeons By Robert

A Brilliant Time At Buckingham Palace (by Jessica)

My family and I spent an afternoon at Buckingham Palace. Here is what I thought...

We started our visit with a really cool audio guide, which takes you around the spectacular rooms of the palace and tells you a lot of facts. We did a lot of walking and it did take a long time, but the palace was exquisitely decorated and there was always something to look at. I loved this, as it was a lot of fun to do something different to normal .

I loved the throne room, as it was incredible to see the real throne that the Queen has sat on. The colour scheme was beautiful and I was surprised to know that many famous royal couples' wedding photographs (such as William and Kate) were taken there. Did you know that Queen Victoria sometimes used this room as a ballroom?

I was extremely interested to find out about the design and architecture of the Palace - especially the work of John Nash, who doubled the size by adding a new suite of rooms on the garden side. The picture gallery was amazing - so many pictures and loads of additional information. We probably spent about twenty minutes in there and (although it was great) Robert and I had to beg our parents to move into the next rooms!

The most exciting part of our visit was the special exhibition on the Queen's coronation. This consisted of many things, such as a film about the preparations, how the ceremony actually worked and - most importantly - a whole room full of real things from the day. These included: invitations, jewellery, hats and the stunning dresses and robes worn by the Queen when she was crowned.

The palace also has lots of things to do for kids, such as a children's audio guide which Robert used, a room full of things to colour and create and a difficult trail which takes you around the gardens.

Overall, I had a fabulous time at Buckingham Palace and I recommend it to everyone aged 8+. It really lets you appreciate the beauty and wonder of this magnificent building.

More by me!

Our fabulous day at the Science Museum

5 things you must do in Vienna

We have shared this post with Gretta Schifano on her Family Days post (this week written by Kate from London with a toddler).

A Brilliant Time At Buckingham Palace (by Jessica)

My family and I spent an afternoon at Buckingham Palace. Here is what I thought...

We started our visit with a really cool audio guide, which takes you around the spectacular rooms of the palace and tells you a lot of facts. We did a lot of walking and it did take a long time, but the palace was exquisitely decorated and there was always something to look at. I loved this, as it was a lot of fun to do something different to normal .

I loved the throne room, as it was incredible to see the real throne that the Queen has sat on. The colour scheme was beautiful and I was surprised to know that many famous royal couples' wedding photographs (such as William and Kate) were taken there. Did you know that Queen Victoria sometimes used this room as a ballroom?

Read more »