Yesterday, Her Majesty The Queen held an audience with The Royal Gurkha Rifles to mark the 25th anniversary of the regiment in the 1844 room at Buckingham Palace.
To mark the occasion, The Queen inspected the ceremonial staff that is carried by the Royal Gurkha Rifles regiment. The staff is 6 feet high and made of bronze and silver, with an inscribed band around it to commemorate each occasion that it has subsequently been presented to the Monarch, who is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
the queen receives the ghurkas and their ceremonial staff (royal family)
the queen examines the staff, which is presented to the monarch (royal family)
The staff is greeted with a Royal salute when it appears or is marched off parade and was given to the Rifles by order of Queen Victoria in 1863.
Today, The Queen had a private preview of the ‘Queen Victoria’s Palace’ exhibition at Buckingham Palace, which marks the famous Queen’s 200th birthday.
The exhibition explores how Queen Victoria transformed Buckingham Palace from a private house into the busy royal residence it is today. Together with Prince Albert, Victoria made Buckingham Palace a rallying point for the nation, a powerful symbol of the monarchy, and a family home for her nine children.
The Queen has opened a new exhibition for this year’s Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. The exhibition tells the story of Queen Victoria’s life at the palace in the year marking the 200th anniversary of her birth.#Queen #BuckinghamPalace #QueenVictoria pic.twitter.com/80cfraG5mF
— The Royal Family Channel (@RoyalFamilyITNP) July 17, 2019
Accompanied by The Duke of York, The Queen looked at portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and dresses worn by Victoria. The display includes a recreation of the ‘Victoria’ pattern dessert service in the State Dining Room and musical instruments played by members of Victoria’s private orchestra.
A highlight of the exhibition is a hologram of a waltz dance at the Crimean Ball in 1856. Actors recreated a scene to show visitors what a 19th century royal ball was like, and an old technique was used in another area – Pepper’s Ghost – to show the ballroom full of guests.
A highlight of ‘Queen Victoria’s Palace’ is the recreation of a magnificent ball which was held in 1856 to mark the end of the Crimean War and honour the returning soldiers.
The recreation uses a Victorian illusion technique known as Pepper’s Ghost. pic.twitter.com/Oe590b6Smc
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 17, 2019
Her Majesty The Queen is Queen Victoria’s great-great-granddaughter.
