Royal days out

I have been dancing till past four o'clock this morning,” confided Queen Victoria to her diary on May 11 1838. The occasion was part of the celebrations leading up to her coronation.
Later, after marriage to Prince Albert, she was still dancing at elaborately
organised balls well into her final days of pregnancy. The magnificent costumes she and the Prince Consort wore were often expressly commissioned to create employment for the silk weavers of Spittalfields.
A musical theme will beat the heart of this year's Summer Opening of the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace (31 July — 26 September 2004). Visitors will have chance to see some of the original musical instruments, photographs and exquisite costumes displayed in the grand Ball Supper Room which itself has been the setting for many glittering events in the Palace's history Costumes, dating back more than 150 years, will include a silver grey watered silk taffeta with deep lace collar and cuffs over a shimmering brocade petticoat.
It is beautifully trimmed with gold and silver braid and rows of pearls and pink ribbon rosettes.
An audio tour of the State Rooms recaptures the voices of famous performers and sounds of original instruments as well as the Johann Strauss waltz composed for Victoria's coronation. But contemporary performers cannot he left out; many of us will remember TV scenes of that stupendous Golden Jubilee concert for Queen Elizabeth II held before an audience of 24,000 in the garden of Buckingham Palace.
The tour weaves you from one memorably beautiful room to another with
artistic flower arrangements everywhere confirming welcome. The Palace has been excellently adapted for a push wheelchair. They have a good access loo and one or two tactile objects for partially sighted visitors to touch (guide dogs welcome although it is suggested a sighted companion comes along too).
The rest of us get a chance to take the weight off our feet for a while sitting
enjoying exhibits and the ambience of the Palace Ballroom.
State Rooms and the special musical entertainment, with audio tour introduced by the Prince of Wales: Timed tickets from 09.30 to last admission 16.15. Adult £12.95; over 60/student £11; Under 17 £6.50; Family (2 adults, 3 under 17s) £32.50. Under 5 free. A companion accompanying a wheelchair free. Advance tickets available tel: 020 7766 7300.
CLARENCE HOUSE opened for the first time in 2003. Former home of the
Queen Mother and now residence of HRH Prince of Wales. Opening dates
Aug 4-Oct 17. But all tickets were completely sold out in advance before May this year. You might try for cancellations towards the end of September Tel: 020 7766 7303
WINDSOR CASTLE Located on a hill with some cobbles. This is a working Royal Palace, opening arrangements are occasionally subject to change at short notice and they suggest you phone to check before planning to go (Tel: 020 7766 7304). Visitors with disabilities are welcome and facilities are available to ensure you have an enjoyable and memorable visit. The room displaying Queen Mary's Doll's house has now been made wheelchair accessible. Open from 09.45 (winter last admission 15.00 – summer last admission 16.00). Adult £12; £10 over 60; £6, 5-17 year old.
Free for a companion accompanying a wheelchair. Disabled toilet facilities. Tel: booking 020 7766 7324 or apply in writing Ticket and Sales Information Office, The Official Residences of The Queen, London SW1A 1AA. No parking but several car parks in the town located close to the castle.
THE PALACE OF HOLYROOD HOUSE — north of the Border boasts the first royal cafe to he opened, and the only one of its kind in an official residence of the Queen. You could sample a changing selection of dishes after a visit to the Palace or the Queen's Gallery here. On the menu will be freshly made pastries and hot savouries, served throughout the day in a former 19 century coach house in the Mews Courtyard.
The Palace of Holyrood House, is at the end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile and is the official residence of HM in Scotland. Audio tours provide a lively guide to the present and to that dark 16th century past with its associations of Mary Queen of Scots and murder and betrayal.
April-October open 9.30 (last admission 17.15); November-March 9.30 to
last admission 16.30. Adult £8 wheelchair companion free; concessions
£6.50; Under 17 £4; Family £20; under 5 free. Advance tickets for the Palace tel: 0131 556 5100. Some improvements to disabled access, being made this year, should now be in place. The Queen's Gallery however is fully accessible and until Nov 7 will have a major exhibition of the golden age of Dutch Paintings.
For more information, see: www.royal.gov.uk
Margaret Hides also wrote the article The Lost Gardens of Heligan in the June issue of Disabled Motorist.