Royal spread: Cake and champagne is a winning combo - but there’s more to a jubilee shindig
(Picture: Brian Dandridge)All hail Her Majesty — not only for an astonishing 70 years on the throne, but for the lovely four-day weekend we all get as a result. With June 2-5 set aside for the public to celebrate our monarch, it’s the perfect excuse to throw a huge Platinum Jubilee street party (and maybe, just maybe, whack out the Geri Halliwell fancy dress). But with that long weekend swiftly approaching, getting prepped is key. Here’s where to start.
Royal rules and regulations
Royal protocol is a notoriously fiendish thing, especially when food and drink is involved. But for the jubilee, all bets are off. While anyone is allowed to host a bash fit for a queen, each council has its own requirements and permissions. Head to gov.uk/apply-hold-street-party to check what’s what. Broadly speaking, all councils require notice that a street shindig is happening but the general cut-off for applications, especially those requiring road closures, has passed. That said, there are no deadlines set in law, so it may be worth ringing your council to see if they can be flexible. If not — and if there’s no organised neighbour nearby — moving things to a garden or a driveway remains an option, as no permission is required for a party on private land so long as entrance is free, alcohol is not being sold and playing music isn’t the primary focus (breaching these rules requires a £21 temporary event notice). Applications for attaching bunting or flags to street lights are being accepted in some areas until late May, meaning even if dancing in the street is technically off the cards, it can still look the part.
Other rules many councils are playing by include lights off and carriages no later than 9pm; no more than £500 for tombola and raffle prizes; and making sure everything is properly cleared up.
Bunting at the ready!
As ever, preparation is key. For many of us, the neighbours are strangers to nod at when the bins go out. Getting ahead of the party is the way to include everyone — and spreads the organisational load to boot. Get the invitations out ASAP with contact details on for those who can help (good luck managing the WhatsApp group), and a note for the drivers to move their cars on the big day, too. A party dictator is never a vibe, but working out who’s doing what is the way to avoid chaos.
Besides the bunting (practically legally mandated at this point), don’t forget the other basics: a decent speaker system (God Save The Queen: the remix), trestle tables, chairs, plates, cutlery and glasses, and plenty of black bin liners for tidying.If you’re falling short on things, Fat Llama (fatllama.com) is a handy app to have; it’s chocka with people looking to rent out everything from gazebos to PA systems. Likewise, there are eight Library of Things (libraryofthings.co.uk) spread across town. They’re good for practical things, like stepladders (useful for getting those decorations up), but also offer party kits and things like projectors too.
Decorations are fairly easily done — all Union Flag everything — and while corner shops, supermarkets and yes, Amazon, will provide, there are plenty of pre-packed party kits out there with flags, balloons, banners, bunting, paper cups, Queen masks and all the rest. Most sit around £100 and reliable suppliers (with, crucially, next day delivery) include partydelights.co.uk, nisbets.co.uk and partyrama.co.uk. If you have paper cups going spare, thread fairy lights through them; it’s an easy decoration that will keep the party going once the sun’s gone down.
Feast like the queen
“If you’re looking to celebrate the way we’ve done for the past few hundred years, then it’s time to roast and entire ox or cow and go for it with plenty of beer,” laughs critic Tom Parker-Bowles. “While state banquets and celebrations are very formal, very French, very elaborate. So it’s probably best just to go for sandwiches and trifles and things.”
Parker-Bowles is right: going the old familiar way is probably best, but, just as the Queen always knows what she’s eating 24 hours in advance, getting it all done the day before is the smart move. The recipe for the official jubilee pudding, a lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle (Jemma’s winning pud from the BBC’s The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking) can be found here and it feeds 20. It also takes three hours to make — and that’s if you’re quick — so maybe palm that one off on someone else.
Of which, if baking is best left to others, the Hummingbird Bakery (hummingbirdbakery.com) has six special sweet treats on, including various fairy cakes, “crownies” (brownies frosted with a crown) and a red velvet jubilee cake, completed with Her Majesty’s silhouette. Likewise, Lola’s Cupcakes (lolascupcakes.co.uk) is selling boxes of jubilee-themed fairy cakes for around £20. Both deliver across town. Otherwise, think coronation chicken sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones piled high with jam and cream, or just nipping to the chippy and letting everyone get stuck in to battered everything.
It’s easier to drink the royal way. While the Queen has recently gone dry, her former chef Darren McGrady is on the record saying her favourite cocktail is a gin and Dubonnet (one part gin to two parts Dubonnet, stirred over ice, served with a wedge of lemon). Designer Nicky Haslam, who has occasionally dined with the Queen, disputes this, saying it was more the Queen Mother’s thing but he acknowledges that gin was a favourite. Good old Gordon’s was reportedly her go-to for a gin and tonic or evening martini, but Buckingham Palace sells its own stuff too (£40, royalcollectionshop.co.uk), while Adnams is releasing a special distiller’s choice in honour of the Queen (£70, adnams.co.uk). Otherwise, raise a toast with Champagne — her Majesty is said to favour Bollinger and Pol Roger, a glass before bedtime — or give the various jubilee-themed editions a go. Baileys has an Eton Mess number (£17, baileys.com) for those with a sweet tooth, while Pimm’s has a special bottling for the celebrations, and is pushing a Jubilee Spritz (50ml Pimm’s with two tablespoons of jam, basil leaves, lemon juice and soda water). If jam in a cocktail sounds suspect, try the suitably-monikered Pimm’s Royale (25ml Pimm’s, topped up with champagne). Once it’s all over, have a nightcap with Hine cognac (from £35, hinecognac.com) which is Her Majesty’s brandy of choice. The morning after, start the fun again with GoBoat (goboat.co.uk) which is offering a floating afternoon tea.
Let the games begin
Life is not all beer and skittles — but for one weekend it could be. With this a celebration of the past 70 years, stick to the schooltime favourites to sum up that cheery old feeling — and, crucially, don’t leave any age out of the fun.
Those too full of Victoria sponge to leave the tables should make like the royal family and play parlour games. The Windsors are said to stick to charades and the name game, where a post-it is stuck to the forehead and everyone takes turns at guessing who they’ve been lumped with, so have a ready supply of pens and post-its to hand. It is said the Queen’s party trick is her penchant for accents. She’s a dab hand at Cockney and, having picked it up from her Liverpudlian hairdresser, is said to do a perfect Scouse (presumably streets ahead of Michael Gove) so playing the accent game seems fitting. To set it up, have two hats, one filled with paper strips detailing accents and another with film quotes; participants take turns performing the quotes in their given accent, with scores out of 10 awarded for each attempt.
Otherwise, for livelier sorts, make like sports day and have some chalk to hand. Use it to mark out hopscotch, noughts and crosses, Connect Four, a bullseye (for throwing games), to play Pictionary of sorts and even, if you have different colours, to mark out a rudimentary Twister board. Use a rope for tug-of-war, three-legged races and a limbo line. Alternatively, platinumjubilee.gov.uk/toolkit has dot-to-dots, colouring games, mazes and paper templates for making crowns, which should keep the little ones busy. And to pick up any lulls, have a royal quiz ready to hand (a microphone will be handy here) — no surprise, the internet is heaving with them. Oh, and don’t forget face painting kits either — plenty of blue, red and white should do the trick.
Majestic music
Jochan Embley
If your tinny, little Bluetooth speaker won’t cut it, it’s time to upgrade your sound system. Time to turn to Fat Llama again; prices range from about a tenner a day into the hundreds. Otherwise, try the likes of London Speaker Hire (londonspeakerhire.com) or Sound Services (sound-services.co.uk). Bear in mind that a big old system can create quite the racket, so be wary of keeping the volume at a reasonable level. And if you break that 9pm curfew, be sure to definitely have it all switched off by 11pm at the latest or you’ll be tried for treason (read: the council can issue a nuisance warning).
And if you’re in need of some music for the playlist, here are 10 tracks that should do the trick:
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
A de facto national anthem since the Euros last summer, this will get the singalong started.
The White Cliffs of Dover - Vera Lynn
This wartime classic was revealed as one of the Queen’s favourite pieces of music back in 2016.
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
It just wouldn’t do without the Fab Four; Hey Jude would be a suitably feel-good substitute.
Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen
A playlist without at least one track from Liz’s namesake would be missing a trick.
I’m Still Standing - Elton John
The Queen knows a thing or two about staying power, so whack in Sir Elton’s ode to sticking around.
Dancing Queen - ABBA
“Queen” in the title? Check. Absolute sure-fire way to get everyone up on their feet? Also check.
Parklife - Blur
Songs don’t come much more British-sounding than Parklife.
Sing - Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band
Another one of the Queen’s confirmed faves, written by the Take That man alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Gregory Porter - Hey Laura
Porter was one of the performers at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Windsor Castle; this track is a lovely mood-setter.
Jamie xx - Let’s Do It Again
Not particularly regal, admittedly, but this dancey tune has summer vibes written all over it.
