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Palaces & Buildings

Preview of 'The Queen's Garden' with Lucy Worsley

<![CDATA[2525619976_7e1cd4146d_bFor those who promptly time their Christmas Day celebrations around The Queen’s televised speech at 3pm have got another treat in store to add to their festivities this year! After Her Majesty has finished her annual message to the nation on BBC One, viewers can eagerly flick over to ITV at 3:10pm to watch The Queen’s Garden – a two part series beginning on Christmas Day which looks at the diverse gardens of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace continues to be a top-spot for tourists when visiting London. However, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the centre of the capital are 39 acres of land and extensive gardens, some of which are not open to the public. In this series, gardener Alan Titchmarsh takes viewers through this haven of flowers, wildlife and trees, discussing the current upkeep of such vast gardens, and the history behind Royal horticulture.
Speaking about the series, the director of factual commissioning at ITV, Richard Klien commented: “There is something magical about a garden hidden behind high walls, and no more so than at Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s Garden is a delightful and charming exploration of that magical world, with a light dusting of royal history.”
Dr Lucy Worsley, writer and chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, has contributed to the historical side of The Queen’s Garden. Through her research, she has delved into the great history of the gardens, looking at the likes of Henry VIII’s hunting grounds and Queen Victoria’s garden parties. I recently spoke to Lucy about the upcoming episodes and asked her a few questions about the secrets behind the Royal gardens…
Would you be able to give our readers an insight into what the series is about?
The garden at Buckingham Palace is like a green oasis in the middle of London, nearly as big as Green Park itself.  Most people don’t know that it’s there, hidden away behind high walls while the traffic whizzes past outside.  It’s home to a surprising number of different species of plants and creatures, but I’m particularly interested in its history.
It was originally a private, aristocratic garden that only became royal in the reign of George III, when the king acquired the Duke of Buckingham’s ‘Buckingham House’ for his wife Queen Charlotte.  (Even today you might hear people familiarly calling the place ‘Buck House’.)  Although it’s right in the heart of modern London, the garden models many of the major trends in British garden history: the formal style of the Baroque age, the curving lines and informality of Capability Brown, then a more picturesque approach in the nineteenth century. And today, although of course you can’t just wander in off the street, thousands of people do have access to it through The Queen’s summer garden parties, making it like a giant outdoor entertaining room.
After working with Alan Titchmarsh on this series, it must have been interesting to combine horticulture and Royal history together. Were there any surprises you unearthed during your research that our readers can look forward to finding out about in the episodes?
I’m not sure if it made it into the final programme, but I was particularly surprised to learn about a performance by a 1920s jazz band, for the younger members of the Royal Family, in the bottom of the drained lake!  
The series takes a look at Henry VIII’s hunting grounds. How important do you think it was for monarchs to have hunting grounds, especially in the early modern period?
Essential. You needed a big game park to provide the fresh meat cooked in your kitchens (peasants, if they ate meat, ate it salted) and you’d want to show off your horsemanship and athleticism. As Plato said, a King rides a powerful horse to show that he can control power. It’s a metaphor for the fact that he can control his powerful emotions, and be a good ruler. 
The annual summer garden parties at Buckingham Palace are always something to marvel at. Could you tell us a little bit about when and why they came about?
Afternoon parties were introduced so that Queen Victoria could get a lot of her entertaining done all in one go. In later years, when her mobility was reduced, she actually drove among her guests in a little cart.
Buckingham Palace has a vast 39 acres of land and gardens, some of which are not open to the public. With that in mind, is there a particular part of the garden which is your favourite?
The lake, I think. If only it still have its flamingos!
Special thanks to Lucy Worsley for speaking to Royal Central about the series.
The Queen’s Garden is presented by Alan Titchmarsh, directed by Martin Williams, and produced by Peter Collins.
Episode one will air at 3:10pm on Christmas Day on ITV and the second episode will be broadcast at 6pm on Sunday 28th December on ITV.
Photo credit: Alex Jilitsky via photopin cc]]>