Shunned by the Queen

With Josh studying in London for a semester, we thought how nice it would be to spend Easter with Her Majesty. Yet, when we arrived at Heathrow on Good Friday morning, there was no car from the palace waiting and we were forced to resort to the Underground for transport to our hotel. We were sure she’d call later.

After being thrilled that The Zetter had a room waiting for us, we showered and were off to meet Josh at his flat. We then enjoyed what had to be one of the most fabulous weather days ever experienced in London! In warm sun, we saw Syracuse’s Faraday House, toured the British Museum, and then headed for Trafalgar Square for a spot of lunch, The Passion of Jesus, and a tour of the National Gallery. It was then on to a walk down Downing street to the Palace of Westminster before moving on to see St. Paul’s from the inside and, spectacularly from the roof of the One New Change shopping center, and finishing up our day on the Millennium Bridge. By the end of what seemed like a very long day, we were ready for early bed.

Saturday morning began with us starting to wonder why the Queen had yet to contact us. Undaunted, we trudged on. After a good breakfast, we headed out to tour the London City Hall and it’s surrounding plaza and buildings, followed by watching the Tower Bridge open for a passing ship! Next was a trip to the eclectic neighborhood of Shoreditch to visit the site of Josh’s major design project for the semester. We were then back across town to King’s Crossing for a walk along the Grand Union Canal to the Camden Markets. A traditional pub lunch at the Hawley Arms refreshed us for a walk up Primrose Hill for the beautiful panoramic view of London. It was back to Farringdon for pub and grub before a well-deserved rest.

Easter Sunday dawned with spotty showers and our confidence that the Queen would meet us at the services. We donned our finery and headed for Westminster Abbey arriving an hour before the service to stand in line and were then seated in the North Transept. Although the Queen never showed her face, we enjoyed a beautiful Sung Eucharist with boys’ choir and a wonderful brass section. Back to our hotel for a change and then a walk-around of Buckingham Palace before a quick run to Putney Bridge to see the men’s start of the one hundred and sixty-second edition of The Boat Race. We thawed in a cafe prior to touring the grounds of Kensington Palace and finally returning to Farringdon for dinner, a bit of pub time, and bed.

We awoke Monday morning still not having heard from the Queen and resolved to return to the States. After breakfast with Josh, we headed to the airport where we were granted a complimentary upgrade to Premium Economy – no doubt an apologetic parting gesture from Her Highness.

We had a whirlwind of a visit and a great time seeing Josh and hearing his take on the city. We were amazed at his ability to point out so many of the city’s landmark buildings and describe their design and designers. We’re so proud of him!