The King and Queen have welcomed 170 guests to Buckingham’s Palace grand ballroom for this evening’s state banquet – treating them to a lavish three-course menu and live string quartet.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will be hosting the Emir of Qatar, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, and will join the the King to deliver speeches in front of dignitaries from both countries in the palace’s ballroom. Guests incuding Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the Prince of Wales and David and Victoria Beckham, will dine on a halal menu of Windsor pheasant, Cornish lobsters and a Balmoral plum sorbet.
Dinner will be followed by a special mocktail, with a new drink created for each state banquet. This year, it will be a Royal Mirage, made of smoked pomegranate and ginger with black lime garnish.
The non-alcoholic drink reflects the colour of the Qatari flag and observes the fact that the Emir and his party do not drink alcohol. The mocktail was created by the Palace’s Page of the Presence, who is a mixologist and also studying for a Masters in wine.
The food menu reads: “A light Tartlet of Cornish Lobster with Quails Eggs and Organic Salad leaves.
“Supreme of Windsor Pheasant wrapped in Savoy cabbage, Roasted celeriac Puree, Gratinated Potatoes with a soft creamy cheese from Suffolk, Truffle sauce and a selection of winter vegetables.”
For dessert, guests can enjoy an “Iced Bombe with Organic Samoan Vanilla Ice Cream and Balmoral Plum Sorbet”, followed by a series of wines, including Chapel Down Grand Reserve 2018 and Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac 2000.
In the background, guests will enjoy music by the Hiraeth String Quartet and the King’s Harpist Mared Pugh-Evans, with tunes including masterpieces by Mozart and Haydn, Moondance by Van Morrison and excerpts from the film La La Land.
David and Victoria Beckham were invited as guests following Beckham’s role as an ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar. The pair arrived hand in hand, with David dapperly dressed in white tie and tails. Victoria donned a fitted dark floor-length evening gown with long fitted sleeves, and wore her hair swept into a sleek pony tail.
Seasonal flowers celebrating the red and white hue of the Qatari flag were displayed in ballroom as florists were snapped placing the finishing touches to the elaborate displays.
Earlier, the King and Queen surveyed the scene, checking personally on the vast, lavishly decorated horse-shoe shaped table. After the banquet, the flowers will be donated to the charity Floral Angels, of which Camilla is patron, and delivered to hospices, elderly care homes and shelters.
Source – Mirror (Story by Zahra Khaliq)
