We have just finished exhibiting in a fantastic five-day experience involving horses, celebrities and some jaw-dropping views. In our previous blog, we gave you the news that we’d be there and information about the event’s main attraction, a celebration of her Royal Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday. Today, we have the pleasure of publishing all the highlights from behind the scenes at The Royal Windsor Horse Show.
A rocky start
The alarm clocks were set for earlier than usual as we hit the road in anticipation of avoiding the traffic and finishing the set up of our stand. In the end, Mother Nature proved to be our biggest obstacle, as we learnt halfway through our journey that the show had been cancelled due to flooding.
It takes more than a raindrop to deter the team at SHERENE MELINDA; we continued on to Windsor with a fierce determination to finish perfecting our stand. With the last handbag placed immaculately upon its shelf and with little left to do, it was time to head back home. Before the car doors could be reached, the grey skies miraculously peeled away to reveal a spectacular sunshine that illuminated Windsor Castle.
The Great British weather
There couldn’t be a more idyllic place than Windsor to experience first hand the notorious changing face of British weather. Despite a wet and windy first day that led to the show being cancelled, the remaining four saw temperatures soar. As the ground dried up and the sun shined down, more visitors came out to explore what was around. The fantastic weather nicely accommodated the many experiences we had of meeting and chatting to new and previous customers on Stand A44.
Despite there being lots to see, one customer still kindly had time to pose for a snap in the sunshine:
Her Majesty’s birthday celebrations
As fun as each day was on the SHERENE MELINDA stand, we were always filled with anticipation for Sunday, the final day, when the Queen’s birthday celebrations were due to begin. Before the celebrations began, we were lucky enough to get a sneaky photo of the Queen's Guard, looking uncharacteristically relaxed:
Queen Elizabeth is known for many things including her love of horses, which is why The Royal Windsor Horse Show was an ideal location to celebrate her birthday. In fact, the Queen has not missed the RWHS in 76 years! Below are a few facts that demonstrate the gravity and scale of the event.
There were 1,160 horses located across the entire grounds throughout the show. Between them, they required 3,000 bales of hay, 600 bags of hard feed and 4,400 bales of shavings. Their riders had access to the following facilities; 600 toilets, 80 showers and a village shop.
This area however was reserved only for the Royals!
Kick-off!
The Queen arrived in her Royal Carriage and we were fortunate enough to get up close!
8.30 PM
Proceedings started as the Royals and Her Majesty took their seats and a huge outdoor screen began playing highlights from the Queen’s 64-year reign in front of an audience of 5,000.
The Queen looked stylish, as she always does, in a baby blue dress with lace overlay and matching jacket by designer Angela Kelly. Any guesses on whose handbag Her Majesty was wearing?
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton pairs a Dolce & Gabbana white lace dress with red jacket from Zara.
The Duchess of Cornwall chooses an embroidered coat by Fiona Clare.
9.00PM
Gary Barlow gets things underway with a performance of 'Something About This Night' from the musical Finding Neverland, accompanied by some Jaguar cars painted with a Union Jack. At the end of the performance, we just had to get a picture of the Jaguars speeding towards us when exiting the stadium:
9.15PM
Actor couple Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter begins telling the story of the Queen’s early life up until World War II, with Imelda singing and Jim narrating.
9.30PM
Helen Mirren takes over as she guides us through the war years, including the moment when the King and Queen visited the East End to meet victims of the Luftwaffe.
9.35PM
Katherine Jenkins gives a stunning rendition of ‘I vow to Thee My Country’, in symbolic recognition of the Queen’s elevation to the throne.
9.45PM
The Royal Cavalry of Oman put on a great show.
We were lucky enough to have a first hand glimpse back stage before they entered the arena:
10.00PM
Kylie Minogue performs ‘I believe in you’
10.30PM
The Household Cavalry give a flawless display.
What a show. No room for error from the @HCMRegt!#HMQ90 pic.twitter.com/M9dOVXOv2V
— ITV (@ITV) May 15, 2016
11.00PM
Dame Shirley Bassey sings Diamonds are Forever, a representation of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
11.15PM
Every birthday party would be at a loss without a cake, and this is the biggest one we’ve ever seen!
11.30PM – The End
After over 2 hours of celebration, it was time for the Royals, audience and performers to go home and rest.
Once in a lifetime
We are overjoyed to have had the opportunity to witness such a spectacular, memorable and meaningful evening. Thank you to the organisers of The Royal Windsor Horse show for having us exhibit at the 5-day event and for extending their invitation to the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration as well.
We have more shows lined up this year, so stay up-to-date with what’s happening at SHERENE MELINDA by following us on social media using the links below.
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Credits:
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Glorious love has been a part of SHERENE MELINDA right from its inception. Whilst a beautiful physical gift 👜👟 is no doubt appreciated, this is not the only way to give and receive love. ❤️ The "languages of love" concept was popularized by Dr. Gary Chapman in his book "The Five Love Languages". Here he talks about five love languages.
