I received a personal invitation to a luncheon that would take place March 2nd to celebrate The Goring Hotel's 105th birthday, and the final phase of The Goring's head-to-toe renovation. As if that weren't enough, the luncheon would be hosted by none other than H.R.H, the Duchess of Cambridge who had chosen from all the five star hotels in London, The Goring, for her family's "home base" during her much-touted wedding festivities in 2011. In point of fact The Goring is the ONLY London Hotel to have a Royal Warrant.
In addition to the special lunch invitation, The Goring hosted a black-tie seated dinner at The Hyde Park Barracks of the Royal Horseman Brigade for the 26 out of town "travel people." This was a "who's who" of the travel industry and I felt honored to be part of this exclusive group.
A royal summons...lunch with a Duchess (in fact I published a book titled, "Reflections Of The Royal Wedding" in 2011)...how could I not join the festivities?
What I wanted to do was to tell the world, but it was cautioned that this was to be kept quiet, not broadcasted, and had to hope of course, that all went well with the Duchess' pregnancy. New outfits were purchased and the anticipation multiplied weekly.
Claudia greets The Duchess of Cambridge. We chatted about our history with The Goring and I asked if Prince George was excited about his new brother or sister. She said yes and explained that Prince George is now a toddler, walking and talking. She then mentioned that she told him that daddy (Prince William) was visiting China. After hearing this he went to the china cabinet, opened it and proclaimed "daddy is not here." She said they would work on his geography.
The Duchess, with her hand painted strokes, adds the finishing touches to the new lobby wall paper-embellishing the mane of the crowned unicorn representing the monarchy.
Pre-arrival Pomp and Circumstance
A small band playing at the Goring Hotel street entrance. Passers-by paused knowing something important was about to happen.
We gathered in the lounge for yet another champagne toast to calm our "pre-Duchess" excitement.
The luncheon concluded as The Duchess departed at the stroke of 2:15 p.m., we stood in silence as she left the room. We felt enriched by the experience (and copious amounts of wine) and reminisced over coffee and petit fours.
The Goring's Hotel's website sums up the day best: "impeccably English with flawless five-star service!"
