Lunch like a Queen: royal picnic spots to sample this spring

Even before the news of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh was announced, Buckingham Palace had had to suspend ticket sales for visiting its gardens this summer, due to overwhelming demand.

With the annual summer opening of the State rooms cancelled for the second year running due to the pandemic, the opportunity to picnic in the grounds of the Queen’s London home has proved irresistible. Even the US networks have carried the story.

Tickets, at the time of writing, were not available. But don’t despair. If the State rooms are anything to go by (more plush velvet and gilt than a 1930s provincial Odeon), then — whisper it — the gardens of Buckingham Palace (which, let’s be honest, is the Queen’s least favourite residence) won’t be terribly special.

There are plenty more palaces and stately homes with a royal connection that are worthy of a sticky beak — and just, if not more, deserving of your pork pies and warm Prosecco.