Houston’s Own Royal Moment Makes King Charles’ Coronation Hit Home — A True British Garden Party
Big Ben, an Iconic British Phone Booth and the Royal Couple All Make an Appearance
BY Shelby Hodge // 05.10.23
The team from Marvelous Events flank colorful cutouts at the Houston Arboretum where invitation-only guests joined the celebration of the coronation of Britain's King Charles. (Photo by Joffre Camacho, Square Foot Photography)
What: The British Consulate-General of Houston Celebration of King Charles’ coronation
Where: Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
PC Moment: A series of celebratory events began Saturday morning with a Buffalo Bayou cleanup at Eleanor Tinsley Park, organized with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Some 120 volunteers of all ages joined in The Big Help Out, part of a global initiative to serve local communities and honor King Charles lifetime of public service. It concluded with a picnic lunch in the park’s Nau Family Pavilion.
That evening, more than 700 invitation-only Anglophiles and British citizens filled a vast party tent at the Houston Arboretum with high spirits and diplomatic good will in an evening showcasing the best of British culture, music, food, sports and more as well as the longstanding connections between the United Kingdom and Texas. The well-dressed throng consisted of luminaries of business, government, journalism and philanthropy — and nine individuals who were sworn in as British citizens by British Consul General Richard Hyde.
“The king is the United Kingdom’s foremost diplomat and our Texas-sized coronation celebration was a fitting way to affirm old relationships and build new connections,” Hyde told the gathering. “This weekend we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate our shared values of freedom and democracy.
“And it is no coincidence that both of our coronation events were environmentally focused as the king has been at the forefront of conservation for decades.”
Elizabeth Anthony
The garden party area was strung with British flags amid decor that included a United Kingdom luxury and vintage auto showcase courtesy of Aston Martin Houston and Jaguar Club of Houston and an art display featuring King Charles, created by British International School of Houston students. An iconic British red phone booth, a replica of Big Ben, a life-sized cutout of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, and a cutout of the iconic double-decker red bus added to the nostalgia of the setting.
Charitable fundraising activities benefited Mountbatten House, a home for senior citizens which is supported by local chapters of the Daughters of the British Empire.
Music was an integral part of the evening with performances by the Houston Brass Band, a Beatles tribute band and bagpipes played by students from the St. Thomas Episcopal High School band.
The evening of the celebrations, a laser light display danced across the front facade of the Consul General’s River Oaks residence. This Saturday, British and Australian ex-pats will play against each other in the inaugural Coronation Ashes cricket match, at the Moosa Cricket Stadium in Pearland, an event organized by the British Consulate.
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