Let’s not go back to bickering after glorious weekend, pleads Charles
(So, who CAN he be talking about?)
THE Prince of Wales has said he hopes people do not return to ‘bickering’ after the feeling of ‘togetherness’ that has united the UK over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Charles and Camilla kicked off the final day of celebrations to mark the Queen’s 70year reign by meeting guests at the Big Jubilee Lunch at The Oval cricket ground in south London yesterday.
The couple mingled with the 450 in attendance, who included locals as well as a group of 70 from the Royal Voluntary Service.
Sarah Friar, chief executive of neighbourhood app Nextdoor, was among those to meet Charles when he sat at her
‘Keep the togetherness’
table. She said the future king told her: ‘When it comes to Monday are we going to go back to all the bickering again? Let’s hope we don’t do that.’
Miss Friar said it was ‘a wonderful thought’ for us all, adding: ‘He said how great it was that everyone comes together this weekend. People who don’t know each other are out having fun.’
Gemma Snow, from the Eden Project in Cornwall, was sitting next to Charles and said he also talked about ‘keeping that togetherness going’.
The prince also described Saturday night’s concert at Buckingham Palace as ‘marvellous’ and joked about his mother’s scene-stealing performance with Paddington Bear at the start of the show.
Local resident Sonia Wilson made a quip about having just had a marmalade sandwich. Miss Wilson said Charles laughed and replied: ‘That’s a good joke, isn’t it?’
Singer Elaine Paige, ambassador for the Royal Voluntary Service, met Charles and Camilla at the lunch.
Speaking afterwards, she praised the Queen for being a ‘superlative actor’ with ‘perfect timing’ and a ‘twinkle in her eye’. ‘It was absolutely brilliant,’ she said.
Camilla, who is patron of The Big Lunch project, was asked to pass on a Jubilee gift to the Queen from the Women’s Institute – a knitted corgi called Winston. ‘I’m sure she’ll love that,’ said the duchess.
Charles and Camilla also met textile artist Lucy Sparrow and viewed a felt art piece featuring life-sized models of food for a street party including a Platinum Pudding, scotch eggs and fruit platters. The 20ft by 5ft piece will be displayed later this year in the Grand Entrance at Buckingham Palace.
Before they left, Camilla cut a special Big Lunch cake made by the National Bakery School, and both she and Charles toasted Her Majesty with champagne.
‘Thank you so much for all that you do,’ Camilla told the guests, who feasted on a lunch that included seafood selections, parma ham, venison pastrami, rabbit and pistachio terrine, ham hock and puffed pork, all followed with Platinum Pudding and Victoria sponge cake.