Last weekend you couldn’t escape the quintessential British pomp and ceremony with the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It made me reflect on my own encounters with the Royals back in the late eighties/early nineties.
As a student in the holidays, I used to work for an outdoor catering company. Prestigious events such as Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Smiths Lawn Polo, The Open Golf, and the odd Royal occasion too!
Corgis incoming!
One of those occasions was at Buckingham Palace, where I met Her Majesty
The Queen at a Summer Garden Party. I vividly remember the corgis racing across the tightly clipped lawn at the back of the Palace, straight into our preparation marquee. They made a beeline for the bottom shelf of our racking system. Where boxes of finger buffet cakes and sandwiches were stored, ready to be plated up for the afternoon’s guests. As the corgis approached and just in the nick of time, we removed all the boxes out of harm’s way. From the embarrassment it caused the footman in charge of this ‘corginization’ , I managed to negotiate a Royal Household Football Club Tie – a nice momento.
“I bet it gets very hot in there?”
Later that day the word went around that Her Majesty The Queen was going to do a walkabout behind the scenes and meet some of us. We smartened up. Four of us porters stood in a line at the back of the marquee in our long white coats. Her Majesty stopped at me, first in line and suggested, “I bet it get’s very hot in there, doesn’t it?” I replied concisely. “Yes it does Ma’am” and she carried on with her walkabout. A proud moment to treasure.
The majestic look
On another occasion, a few of us were delegated to set up for a lunch at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. The then residence of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
We arrived just after dawn, the marquee was up, and the chairs and tables were laid out. All we had to do was put the tablecloths on, set the cutlery, glasses, napkins, place cards etc., and make it look majestic!
The final part of the process was to place the bread rolls onto each side plate.
Speed was of the essence. We handballed the said rolls, as quickly as we could between a few of us, in gloved hand, and ‘plonked them’ onto every plate.
Prince surprise!
Just as the last roll had hit the final plate, the marquee canvas door peeled back to reveal The Prince Of Wales. “Morning!” echoed around the tent as we stood there stunned, like statues – motionless.
Clearly, we had been up to a little ‘tomfoolery’, but all in good faith. His Royal Highness thought better of venturing in to scrutinise our handiwork and carried on with his morning rounds. An encounter with the future King, not to forget.
The Royal treatment
Roll forward 30+ years (excuse the pun!)… At Brand Boxes we are built around our experiences and reminded of the importance of attention to detail
in the pursuit of excellence. We know that each project, and each client deserves the royal treatment. We take great pride in creating and orchestrating the most precise, ornate, and personalized Brandboxes for our clients – from brief through to delivery.
Our goal is to make the giving and receiving of our Brandboxes a regal experience for all parties. They are typically filled with corporate memorabilia, beautifully embellished and snuggly packed. We know that just like how the Royals expect the best, our clients deserve nothing less.
A lasting impression
If you are looking to upgrade your customer journey and treat your clients like
Kings and Queens, then drop me a line. We can discuss the creation of a Brandbox that captures the essence of your brand and leaves a lasting impression.
Have a memorable week!
