Prince Charles, Camilla & Anne hosted the first soggy garden party in three years

Here are some photos from yesterday’s garden party at Buckingham Palace. This was the first garden party of the Palace’s “garden party season,” a time when BP hosts several huge garden events and invites hundreds of peasants to interact with royalty. Queen Elizabeth loves garden parties and people love to receive invitations to Palace garden parties. Unfortunately, the Queen decided to skip this year’s garden party szn because – apparently – she doesn’t want people to see her in a wheelchair. Which meant that the first Palace party was hosted by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Princess Royal. The Kents were there too, although there weren’t many photos of them.

Did I mention the first party was a soggy mess? I mean, that’s what they get for scheduling it in May in London, I suppose. They didn’t cancel it and everyone just used umbrellas. I hope they set up tents for the refreshments, can’t imagine there were many people trying to eat soggy petit fours. This was actually the first Palace garden party since 2019 – they were completely canceled during the pandemic. There were 8,000 people there yesterday. You can read more about who was there here.

There is, of course, a lot of talk about how this is all Charles’s regency, and what we’re seeing is basically a soft opening of King Charles’s reign. Sure, I believe that. I don’t think this is what Charles wanted though, to have a “soft opening” to his kingship.

A note about Princess Anne… lovely coat, and I’m sure it’s been in her closet for decades. But why in the world did she pair it with a green hat? Surely a light blue hat would have been better?

Photos courtesy of Instar.

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58 Responses to “Prince Charles, Camilla & Anne hosted the first soggy garden party in three years”

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  1. 809Matriarch says:

    Re: Princess Anne’s green hat. She had a green dress on which peeked out underneath the coat. I think it looked great. She should wear hats more to cover up her Afro Annie look.

    • TOM says:

      iridescent silk shantung in a day dress is all kinds of tacky. In fact, the frump level is so sky high in these photos that it broke my computer’s tacky-o-meter.

      All that money and so close to Paris and Milan. What a shame.

    • Kaiser says:

      Anne’s dress is light blue, not green!! The dress matches the coat, the hat sticks out.

    • Seraphina says:

      That spinach colored hat sticks out like a weed on top of her head – it does not match. As far as the coat, she looks like she rolled on an expensive Perisan rug and wore it to come to the party. Nothing matches with her choice of attire here.

      • Lionel says:

        Might be the tint on my phone, but it looks to me like Anne’s dress is sort of teal/aqua. It matches the blue in the coat. I’m thinking the hat and the dress look fierce together, without the coat. The coat matches the dress well enough, but not the hat.

        TL;DR keep the hat, lose the coat!

  2. ThatsNotOkay says:

    Let’s not pretend they’re not all going to get COVID again. I don’t care if they’re outside. Standing that close and talking in people’s faces, some 8000 strong, for hours? Yeah, a COVIDRAVAGANZA!

    • Elizabeth Kerri Mahon says:

      My first thought when I read that 8,000 people were there was that this garden party is going to be a super spreader event. I would love to know just how many people test positive for COVID a few days after this event.

    • ceej says:

      yeah, we no longer have free tests so ppl aren’t doing lateral flows before they interact anymore, and we don’t have any mask-wearing restrictions, so who knows if you’re carrying it to an event.

      AND even if someone knows they are positive with COVID… the gov guidance if you have it is basically “you do you, we trust you (wink)” so yes – millions each week are getting infected, so you’re almost guarantees someone who got invited went, knowing they had it, because “it’s so mild now” and they didn’t want to sit out their once in a season invite.

      since C&C had it recently, odds are they won’t reinfect so we’ll probably never hear anything about how many people get it after.

      • kirk says:

        COVID Omicron subvariant B.2.12.1 is starting to overtake Omicron B.2 and appears to be highly transmissable. Not sure which ones Chuck & Co have had, but the B.2.12.1 tends to hang out in lower lungs. Virus mutations may enable it to evade antibodies.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      It’s so irresponsible. I can’t believe people aren’t taking the coronavirus more seriously. I still wear my mask everywhere when I go out, vaxxed and boosted too.

      As Fauci said, “Covid will decide when it’s done with us, not us deciding we are done with Covid.”

  3. equality says:

    Regular people have a back-up plan for rain at an event so attendees aren’t standing around under umbrellas. The RF doesn’t have buildings or tents for back up?

  4. Chic says:

    They had some tents but it wasn’t enough for the crowds. Looked like the tents were housing food and refreshments. I think it is probably a super spreader event, too.

  5. C-Shell says:

    I’m, oddly, enchanted with Anne’s ensemble. It is in no way matchy-matchy like most royal women’s outfits, and I’m enjoying looking at the different colors, textures and patterns. She looks like she’s having fun. Cam looks pretty good here, too. The hat is too big, as usual, but that’s her thing, I guess.

    • jan90067 says:

      I think she was matching a “stem” on the flower of the coat, but it clashed with the dress underneath. Still, it’s a hell of a lot more stylish than “other” (younger) people in that family have worn.

      • C-Shell says:

        I love the gloves with the coat, and the umbrella handle is kinda cute (hope it’s not ivory …). She evidently used every color in the coat to assemble this outfit. 🤗

      • BeanieBean says:

        I thought so, too. I thought all the different colors went well together because the coat itself has so many & because they’re all in the same tone. And I was wondering if Anne, like the Queen, got to view several bolts of fabric whenever she went to places & had things made up. That coat fabric in particular looks special, and I don’t think it’s something you’ll find in a standard coat shop. I way prefer Anne’s use of color to Kate’s matchy-matchiness any ol’ time.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      We have no idea what color the hat really is. Photographs, due to lighting, distort color. I am with you, jan90067, I think Anne’s brocade patterned coat probably contains a hint of green which actually matches her green hat.

      • Moneypenny424 says:

        That was my first thought too–but then I saw more pics and the hat is the same color as her umbrella. Odd choice.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      I love this ensemble on Anne–not sure about the hat, but as has been pointed out, it might “match” more in person. I loved her elegant coat/scarf look from 2 weeks ago, too.

      More Anne fashion! Fewer buttons & buckles!

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I love her ensemble as well!! I think she looks sharp as she usually does. Anne doesn’t care what anyone thinks except her parents and herself. Anne does what Anne does best!! Anne is very driven and is no slack. She is one of the few in the RF that has a healthy work ethic and is invested in all of her duties.

        I love seeing pictures of Anne! Honk, honk for Anne!!!

  6. Emma says:

    Anne has such a uh quirky style. She’s seventy something so I guess she should get a pass but yikes.

    • MsIam says:

      She has that aristocrat look, like everything has been in mothballs for years. Good for her that it all still fits.

  7. Miranda says:

    Is it weird that I enjoy Anne’s style in general? The hat is a miss here, but THAT COAT! Wearing vintage seems more like a matter of practicality for her, and sometimes I wonder if she’s even aware that she has some real killer pieces in her wardrobe.

    • Laura-Lee MacDonald says:

      I agree! When GFY did an Anne fashion retrospective, I screenshot several slides for my sewing inspo folder.

    • Christine says:

      I adore her coat! I always love seeing what Anne is wearing, she’s rarely just boring.

      • kirk says:

        Anne’s coat is gorgeous! Her hat’s pretty fantastic too but the color seems off with the coat, not enough green to pickup. Maybe it’s hat-umbrella match.

    • Truthiness says:

      A picture tells a story. I love Anne’s style in general too. This however is conspicuously Charles & Camilla coming out REGALLY as soft Regent and future QC. And we know how Charles abhors anyone who could/does upstage him! I’d put $20 on Anne reading the room and making sure she is not a threat visually or style wise on 🔥🔥. At Philip’s funeral Camilla had a shabby bland black dress so she didn’t pull focus from Charles ascending to be THE male patriarch — Anne and Camilla know Charles all too well. Now that Camilla is officially QC she can dress to complement but not outdress Charles.

  8. Becks1 says:

    I actually think both Camilla and Anne look pretty good. Anne’s jacket/scarf is pretty, and I love the color blue of Camilla’s coat and hat. Charles seemed to be having a good time, even in the rain.

    I mentioned this yesterday but I LOLed when I realized they sent the Cambridges out of town for this garden party.

  9. Eurydice says:

    I imagine they’re used to rain in the UK. I have to say I’m kind of loving Charles and Camilla’s look – so traditional and well-tailored, like a postcard from another era.

  10. OriginalLala says:

    Camilla is dressed up like Jasperware, I kind of dig it

    • C-Shell says:

      I was thinking Wedgwood, and I kind of dig it too LOL,

      • fineskylark says:

        I was just coming to say that Camilla had cosplayed as Wedgwood. I’m not mad about it, though; it’s such a pretty blue.

        I inherited a little silver jubbly Wedgwood plate from my grandmother; I wonder if they are doing anything for this one.

      • Christine says:

        I was thinking Wedgwood too, and I love it!

      • Truthiness says:

        The Queen has a really good Wedgwood-esque dress/coatdress, I thought it was one of her best looks of the past decade or two. With a cool Wedgwood-ish hat, not unlike a teapot…you should google it, fun cosplay for a Brit monarch.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      Is not Jasperware made by Wedgewood?

  11. Yo says:

    Good to see that Charles is upholding the white supremacy standards of Ableism by being ashamed of his mother in a wheelchair. If only we could tackle ableism in the world, But it’s not gonna come from the royal family. They don’t want people of color and they don’t want the disabled. Those are the tenets of white supremacy and they will die upholding them. Clearly

    • Jaded says:

      It’s the Queen who clearly doesn’t want to be seen in a wheelchair. Also, she may very well be suffering from mild dementia, long covid and a host of other issues that would cause her to be very uncomfortable in a huge group like that, not to mention the possibility of catching covid again. Charles may be a dick but to equate her absence to his being ashamed of her is ridiculous.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Charles has many attitude problems and many characteristic that I do not like however, Charles is the last British Royal that I would accuse of being discriminatory towards a person in a wheelchair or any person with a disability.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        Other than the Sussexes (obviously), Charles is supposedly the most intelligent and least bigoted of the family. That does NOT mean he is intelligent by other people’s standards, or that he is not a bigot, I just mean RELATIVE to the rest of that family.

      • JaneBee says:

        @Jaded +1

  12. Yo says:

    From an artists perspective, Annes outfit presents perfect balance. She clearly knows her color wheel and relations.

  13. booboocita says:

    Camilla’s style is good, as usual, but she’d look even better without the sour puss. She’s about to be Queen Consort, and far more visible to the public than she’s ever been; can’t she muster up even a little smile? Nobody’s asking her to gurn like Khate …

    • BayTampaBay says:

      Would you be smiling if you knew that in the very near future you would be Queen Consort. I would be off in a corner crying my eyes out while drinking a lot of wine straight out of the bottle.

      • booboocita says:

        And I’d be helping myself to some of that kind bud that’s now legal in my home state of California. Who am I kidding — I’d be helping myself to several bowls. But she’s known what’s coming for some time now; maybe she could prep herself for the position a little by learning how to fake some warmth?

        I think that the lack of preparation, and apparent indifference to what others want/need/hope for, is what upsets me most about the BRF. They’re supposed to be the living embodiment of the state, right? Is this what the state is? Sour faces, manic flapping hands, incandescence?

      • SuzieQ says:

        She asked for it, and rolled over Diana in the process. If she’s drinking (LOL at “if”), I hope it’s because she has a guilty conscience (LOL at “conscience”).

  14. Seraphina says:

    I see for the garden party they had the Camellia (DoC) but was the Rose there too???? All the mistresses should be represented.

  15. Lizzie says:

    It sure seems like C&C do not want to be photographed with Keen. I think Anne’s babysitting assignment was the last time we’ve seen her with a royal that is not her husband.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I am curious if Anne’s first thought of having to drag CopyKeen with her was a punishment for something. As I would see it as punishment.

  16. MsIam says:

    I’m sorry but Charles looks like the Monopoly Man to me. Or maybe Burgess Meredith as The Penguin. He just needs a monocle. Camilla and Anne look fine but I wish Camilla’s hats weren’t so big. Like Mrs. Howell on Gilligan’s Island. I’m referencing all the sixties TV shows, lol.

    • Chrissy says:

      LOL at the Sixties TV references. Both were fun after-school faves in our house! Thanks.

  17. FeministYeah says:

    They did a closeup of Charles’ fingers on Reddit and boy oh boy, he’s having kidney/heart issues from here till next week. What if he ends up having a short reign? And Bullyiam and KKKate (or maybe just Bullyiam, lol) get everything they wanted? They’ll still fuck it up, but I want them to fuck it up when they’re in their mid-50s at least :p When all people can talk about is their kids’ looks and who they’re dating.
    Ah, to daydream and sigh…

  18. blunt talker says:

    As the poster above stated all of them will get covid again-allowing people to talk. breathe, and spit in your face-I don’t give a damn if I am outside or not-I still wear my mask in public because yuou are coming in contact with people who might not be vaccinated at all and they are spreading their germs in your face.

  19. VivaAviva says:

    I think I low key want to be Princess Anne.

  20. Spook says:

    The coat is a Chinese fabric, or a close replicate, seeing the print of cranes on the cloth is a typical Chinese symbolism for longevity, hence a popular use of cloth by the elderlies.