Christopher Robin would have been disappointed: they weren't changing guard at Buckingham Palace the day we went. As we hung around in the pouring rain outside the palace gates with an army of other tourists, a harassed-looking (and soaked) mounted policewoman rode up and down the crowd yelling there wouldn't be any guard changing for another two days - presumably once the rain had stopped. Time for a bacon buttie then, before our midday entry slot to Buckingham Palace's State Rooms and our chance to see the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress up close.The ticket price includes an audio tour and we all donned our headphones at the Ambassador's entrance to the palace to be greeted - on tape - by Prince Charles, who told us the palace has 775 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 240 bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Pity some of the 78 bathrooms weren't put at visitors' disposal before the start of the tour. The only facilities available are after the 90 minute tour, so those needing a pee beforehand are directed to a public loo about 10 minutes walk away - not much fun in the pouring rain.
The tour takes you into the famous quadrangle, where a newly married Kate and William alighted from their carriage after the wedding, and up the Grand Staircase into the Green Drawing Room and on into the Throne Room, where the wedding photos were taken. Copies of the group photos are on display so you can visualise everyone lining up on the day. A man standing next to me was, he told his wife in a heavy Yorkshire accent, quite overcome to be standing where Royalty had stood. I was more amazed that every window of these ornate and magnificent rooms was covered in greying and rather tatty net curtains. Is Her Maj a secret curtain twitcher?
The tour continued through the Picture Gallery to a display of some of the Royal Family's Faberge collection (wonderful) and then into the Ballroom where Kate, Wills and co. bopped into the wee small hours after their wedding. Kate's £250,000 Alexander McQueen wedding dress is now on display here on a podium surrounded by what can only be described as a large black mosquito net. Still, there's no doubt the dress is quite beautiful and a short film shows the incredible amount of work that went into designing and making it and up close you really appreciate the level of intricacy and detail. Kate's shoes, the 1936 Cartier tiara she wore (something borrowed from the Queen) and stunning earrings given to her by her parents are also on show.
In the State dining room, Kate and William's eight tier wedding cake is displayed. The first three layers are replicas, the top two having been kept by the newly weds for future christenings and the third layer having been served to guests. On the bottom tier, the first cut of the cake made by the couple is clearly visible.
A couple of State rooms later, we emerged into the Palace gardens where a tea room has been set up - the girls were thrilled that the hot chocolates were topped with a crown
Just in front of the cafe, having enjoyed a spectacular firework display in the gardens, Kate and Wills left for their first night as man and wife in a Fiat 500 convertible, waving madly through the sunshine roof. It must have been quite a night.
