Children's Party at the Palace

"Ladies and gentlemen, and children everywhere. As has been so evident this afternoon British children's literature has been for many years an extraordinary success story and I am glad that we have been able to celebrate this great achievement here at Buckingham Palace."

—Queen Elizabeth II, 2006.[1]

The Children's Party at the Palace was an event organised by Peter Orton of Hit Entertainment and David Johnstone of DJI consult, held in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2006 in honour of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The event, which had the theme of British children's literature, was attended by 2,000 children and 1,000 adults[2] who were chosen through a national ballot.[3] On arrival, all guests received a purple hamper with snacks put together by Jamie Oliver.[4]

For the occasion, the palace grounds were transformed into scenes from children's books, including places like the Hundred Acre Wood, with 80 costumed characters and a model of the BFG sitting at a huge piano.[4] The grounds also had an authors' corner, where authors like J. K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Eric Hill and Raymond Briggs read from their books and signed autographs.[5]

  1. ^ "A speech by The Queen at the Children's Literature Garden Party". Royal.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Kids win invite to palace party", Newsround report. (last updated 24 May 2006; Retrieved 13 July 2006)
  3. ^ "Palace gets ready for kids' party", Newsround report. (last updated 23 June 2006; Retrieved 13 July 2006)
  4. ^ a b "Queen puts on huge party for kids", Newsround report. (last updated 25 June 2006; Retrieved 13 July 2006)
  5. ^ "Sophie Dahl Talks Potter and JKR" from Mugglenet.com (posted 24 June 2006; Retrieved 13 July 2006)