Diamond Jubilee Souvenirs

Diamond Jubilee Royal Collection.

During my visit to London last April, I stopped by The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace to view the Royal Carriages and Rolls Royce vehicles used by the Royal Family. I shared that visit in my previous blog post, Tour of the Royal Mews. After the visit, I stopped by the Shop at the Royal Mews to check out the souvenirs that I can purchase to commemorate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee? I was excited to see all of these beautiful royal porcelains, china, Gilded boxes filled with cookies, chocolates, candies, some Tea-things like tea cup and teapots, kitchen stuff, trinket boxes which were all Made in England.  There were several commemorative books and  DVDs about The Queen and the Royal Family. There was even a section for the children filled with Princess t-shirts, pyjamas, toys, children's books, colouring books, pencils, pens and even a "God Save The Queen" pillow.

Click here, Royal Collection Shop to view and shop for more items. They ship internationally.  I purchased two books:The Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Royal Mews, some pens and a magnet souvenir for our fridge.  Which souvenir will you select and buy? 

I would love to order one of these tea sets.

Such a pretty tea set.

For the kids...

I purchased a Princess Pink t-shirt and a Princess colouring book for my niece.

For my nephew, I purchased the Queen's Guards Uniform pyjama set.

When in London, here is another shop for more Royal Souvenirs...

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Tour of the Royal Mews

The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace.

The Royals Mews at Buckingham Palace is a working department of the Royal Household. It is not  a Museum. The Royal Mews was built between 1822 and 1825 by John Nash, same architect that built Buckingham Palace for King George IV. It houses the State Carriages and Rolls Royce vehicles that the Royal Family use for their own transport to Major state occasions, Jubilees,  Opening of Parliament, Coronations, Royal Weddings  and also including the investitures of Foreign Ambassadors for presentation to the Queen.

During my visit to London last month, I decided to stop by at the Royal Mews to view the many different Carriages and the Rolls Royce used by the Royal Family. It is located behind Buckingham Palace. During my visit, there was a guided tour given by one of the Palace staff. Luckily I joined and  learnt some information and history about the working life in the Mews, the history of the carriages and the Rolls Royce used by the Royal family. I was amazed that they have staff for everything: to train, feed and clean the horses, to make sure the liveries and harnesses are all cleaned and shiny, the care of the carriages to make sure they are clean, shiny and in top condition and the Rolls Royce ready for the Royals to use. There's plenty of hardwork involved in this place which I appreciated seeing it on hand. We all benefit from it when we see all of the Windsor Grey horses parading with the Royals in the carriages  or when we see the shiny Rolls Royce arriving with the Queen and Prince Philip. Here are some of my photographs from the tour of the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace.

Carriages and Rolls Royce fit for a Queen.

The Gold Coach was used three times only by Queen Elizabeth II: The first during her Coronation in June 1953, the second during her 1977 Silver Jubilee and lastly in 2002 during The Golden Jubilee. Unfortunately, the Queen will not use this carriage for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Gold State Coach was commissioned by George III in 1762. The front and the rear shows two carved Tritons representing England's Navy power. According to our guide, the Royals does not enjoy riding this Coach because it swings not only up and down but in all directions. Also to get it out from this room, the whole wall on one side including the framed windows would have to be removed.

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London: Fun with Kids!

My friend Grace and her family will be travelling to London this month. Grace asked me what to do in London with her daughter?  Here are some of my suggestions to her.

London Zoo.
(Photo credit: London Zoo)


Visiting the London Zoo at Regent's Park will definitely be fun, entertaining and educational for both children and adults. The whole park is a huge complex with tons of fun activities and discovery. View different kinds of animals from the mammals, the birds and even a Penguin Beach.

Photo credit: London Zoo.

Photo credit: London Zoo.



2. Sealife London Aquarium

The London Aquarium is located near the London Eye along the Thames River. I suggest to ride the River Cruise then get off at the London Eye to ride it first. Then afterwards, walk over to the London Aquarium to have a fun and relaxing time viewing the marine animals with the children.

The London Eye and the Thames River.

Clown Fish is one of the water species to visit in the London Aquarium.
(Photo credit: London Aquarium)

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Weekend in London

View of the London Eye, London Cab and full bloom tulips from The Mall.

Rain or shine, London is beautiful! I was there last weekend, enjoying the April spring weather of rain, rain and rain and some sunshine. That is London weather for April. Who knows what the weather will be in May? Anyhow, London's sights are still standing and beautiful, it never fails to captivate. London is the city to visit this Spring and Summer for their numerous major events. This coming June will be the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee-60 years on the throne and the 2012 Summer Olympics in the end of July 2012 for two weeks. London is getting ready for all of these events with some road constructions and the people getting excited for the coming events. During my trip there, London was definitely busy with events, last Saturday was the 86th birthday of The Queen, Trafalgar Square also had the celebration for St. George's Day then last Sunday was the world renowned London Marathon. Last weekend was also the last presentation of  Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton's photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Hello from London, I had a busy itinerary but definitely enjoyed this beautiful city of London.


View of Big Ben from The Mall and St. James Park.

The Mall.

The changing weather in London is evident here at the Victoria Memorial. Sunny then gray cloudy skies then rain.

Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards.

Beautiful and colourful full blooming tulips at The Mall.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) presented the Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration.  I enjoyed the exhibit as it presented Queen Elizabeth with her parents, sister, then her marriage to Prince Philip, her Coronation and informal pictures with her children, all photographed by Cecil Beaton.

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