England

Monday, June 16

In 1348, King Edward III thought it would be cool to set up his own entourage, like Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. Twenty four men took a vow of honor and promised allegiance to The King. Everyone won: the Knights received Royal favors and they got to show off their medieval street cred. In return, The King didn't fear an uprising coming from them.

Fast forward to today. The Order of the Garter is the oldest chivalry group in England -- and it's still going strong after 700 years. Membership is the sole discretion of the sovereign, typically to recognize service to the Crown or to the nation.

So why all the backstory? I returned to Windsor Castle today and found it closed to the public. The Order of the Garter was conducting their annual ceremony. No one was permitted inside the castle walls unless you were part of the service.

...or unless you had a magic green ticket. 

Unlike The King's birthday parade which had 100,000+ members of the public show up, this event is only open to a few thousand. It's much more intimate and picnic-like. Royality is only a few feet away. I was lucky enough to be in the first row so I was close to the action.

First was the band, the Yeomen Warders...

...then the aristocracy.

Next came The Knights themselves. You may recognize these two: composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. If you'd like to see the whole list, click here.

Here is William, Prince of Wales, who will be the next King. 

Finally, The King and Queen.

If I was any closer, I could have been one of the boys carrying his robe. Here's the whole procession as it went by.

The ceremony continued in St. George's Chapel with a carriage ride back to the castle. The King looked directly at me like he was seriously considering my application for knighthood.

William and Catherine followed.

Don't worry about the others. They didn't get carriages, but they still rode in style.

Here is my final view of St. George's Chapel as I departed. 

The reason I had to leave was because I had another engagement. Carmen was playing at the Royal Opera House. If you're unsure about the play, you do know some of the songs.

Click here to see a review from The Simpsons. Goodnight London!

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