Elspeth A. Lodge

A select group of students studying hospitality at Leicester and Brooksby Melton colleges will cater to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and to the Duchess of Cambridge next week, when the royals travel to Leicester in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Yesterday, student waiters and waitresses rehearsed for a feast, which the royals will enjoy at St Martin’s House, in the city centre.

Felicity Glew, one of the selected servers, told the Leicester Mercury: “I’m going to be serving the Duchess of Cambridge and I’m really excited and looking forward to it. I’ve never served anyone famous before. When they asked for five people to serve the main table, I put my hand straight up. I’ve got to serve food, wine and water to her. The hardest thing will not be getting in anyone else’s way and not spilling any food on her lap.”

Georgia Pearson told the Mercury she is to serve the Queen: “I’m going to be doing an apprenticeship in catering at Brooksby soon so this is great for me,” she said. “A friend of mine is a Lord Lieutenant‘s cadet and is going to be sitting at the table. I’m just going to remain totally professional.”

Paul Bonnett, a member of the board of directors at St Martin’s House with a background in hotels and hospitality led the serving rehearsal and told the Mercury: “I’ve done this sort of thing for royals in the past and it’s always a similar mixture of emotions between excitement and nerves. We’ll be ready by the time March 8 comes.”

What’s on the menu? “Dishes will include Launde Abbey lamb, goats cheese croquettes, wild mushroom tartlets, root vegetable dauphinoise, glazed beetroot and a selection of desserts,” reveals the Mercury.

What types of refreshments will the royals enjoy in celebration of the Queens Diamond Jubilee? While the royals might have champagne on hand, they will also have a bottle of £100,000 scotch whisky made especially for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by Scottish label John Walker & Sons: Scotch Whisky Distillers By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen.  The Queen will have a bottle filled especially for her at the Royal Lochnagar Distillery, on the edge of Her Majesty The Queen’s Balmoral Estate, according to a recent news wire.

The Diamond Jubilee Scotch Whisky was distilled in 1952—the year the Queen ascended the throne— and is a unique blend of malt and grain Scotch Whiskies. Master Blender Jim Beveridge and his apprentice Matthew Crow have overseen the process: “the search, selection and expert blending of the whiskies from the beginning,” said the newswire. Beveridge commented to the media: “Along with Master Cooper David Taylor, who I have worked alongside for more than 30 years, and all those at John Walker & Sons, I feel an immense sense of pride to be involved in this project,” he said. “An extraordinary amount of care and attention has gone into every stage of crafting this Scotch Whisky and there has been a great sense of excitement building towards today, when the full character and flavours of Diamond Jubilee by John Walker & Sons will be revealed for the first time.”

The rare blend of Scotch Whisky will be stored in opulent diamond shaped Baccarat crystal decanters. Each decanter will sit on a crystal base “with six radial legs to reflect the decades of The Queen’s enduring reign,” reports say.  And each will be adorned with a Britannia silver collar, designed by leading Scottish silversmiths Hamilton & Inches. On each collar will be a hand set half-carat diamond, the Royal Arms, the John Walker & Sons monogram, and individually numbered seals.

 David Gates, Grantee of John Walker & Sons’ Royal Warrant, will oversee the filling of The Queen’s decanter himself. David Gates spoke to the media: “John Walker & Sons was first awarded a Royal Warrant in 1934 by King George V,” he said. “We are extremely honoured that the quality of our whiskies is recognised by this symbol and our commitment to this calibre of quality and service is unwavering. Today in 2012, we are privileged to be able to celebrate The Queen’s remarkable achievement with this fitting tribute, Diamond Jubilee by John Walker & Sons, the sales of which will help to create an enduring legacy for the supreme craftsmanship that it represents.”

Each bottle will come with some other memorabilia as well: “Cumbria Crystal glasses engraved by Philip Lawson Johnston and a commemorative artefact book, hand bound by Laura West at her Isle of Skye bindery and personalised for each owner by Sally Mangum, Calligrapher By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen,” say reports. “All the elements will be housed in a chest made by the cabinet makers at N.E.J. Stevenson, incorporating oak from Sandringham to echo the whisky marrying casks and Caledonian pine from The Queen’s Balmoral Estate.”

All the profits from the whisky sales will go to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST).

The Palace has announced that Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber will compose a song together— it will mark the  Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The musicians aim to include a mix of musical traditions, featuring artists and contributors from the UK and Commonwealth: “They could include international names and unknowns from remote villages,” states a report from the official Diamond Jubilee website.

Barlow plans to do some research while he composes the piece with Webber; he will travel to the Caribbean, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Australasia, to discover what the Queen means to the people of the Commonwealth. His trip will become part of a BBC documentary.

The Jubilee site released commentary from both Barlow and Webber regarding their upcoming work. Barlow told the site: “This is probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on musically. I’m so excited and thrilled to be a part of it.” While Lloyd Webber said: “It is a huge honour to be involved in this historic occasion and I am looking forward very much to working with Gary.”

The final composition will be performed on June 4th at the Diamond Jubilee weekend concert; it will take place in front of Buckingham Palace on a stage designed by world-renowned architect Mark Fisher. The Jubilee website says fisher will take full advantage of the historic backdrop by creating spectacular lighting and projections.

Details released by the palace on the official jubilee site say the concert will host a bevy of world-class musicians: “…classic hits and one-off collaborations from artists including Shirley Bassey, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Elton John, Tom Jones, Lang Lang, Annie Lennox, Madness, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and Ed Sheeran. Other names will be announced in due course.”

This isn’t a joke— the Prince is set to challenge one of the fastest men in history to a “fun race,” say royal insiders.

Next month, when the Prince visits Jamaica on his first solo tour (in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee), he will visit the training track of Olympic athlete Usain Bolt in Kingston. Here, the Prince will have the chance to meet (and possibly race) the holder of several world records:

As an Olympic Ambassador for Team GB, Harry is keen to have some fun with Bolt if the athlete’s heavy training schedule allows: “The Prince and Usain Bolt are keen for it to happen,” a royal insider told the Telegraph of the proposed race. “Because the visit is at a critical time in the run-up to the London 2012 Games, the whole thing will depend on Usain Bolt’s training schedule, which the Prince obviously doesn’t want to interrupt.”

Take a look at Harry’s competition in the footage below (from YouTube)

Why he’s so fast? Usain Bolt interview (FULL HD)

Usain Bolt running technique

Prince Harry’s schedule has been released for his upcoming trip to Belize on March 2. The young royal, who will visit several Caribbean locations in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee,  will spend a short 23 ½ hours in the region. This time slot might seem small, but it will suffice for Harry to fulfill his royal duties. His commitments will include being present for the revealing of a Jubilee commemorative stamp and delivering a speech on behalf of the Queen at a street festival.

The Prince is expected to touch down in Belize on a private jet at the Phillip Goldson International Airport. According to Belizian.com: “…he will be received with a salute from the Belize Defense Force and meet officials at the VIP Lounge, including the Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition Hon. Francis Fonseca and British High Commissioner to Belize, Patrick Ashworth.”

From the airport, the Prince will travel to the capital of Belize, the city of Belmopan, to meet the Governor General , Sir Colville Young. At this time, the jubilee commemorative stamps will be revealed, before Harry experiences a street festival and presents his speech.

At the festival, which will be open to the public, Harry will taste traditional foods of the region and watch presentations from the Mestizo, Creole and Garifuna cultures. The Prince will also be present as a street in the northwest area of the capitol City of Belmopan is re-named in honor of his grandmother, reports Belizean.com. He is expected to enjoy the festivities until around 8p.m.

Harry will continue his royal jubilee duties by flying to Bahamas on March third, to Jamaica on the fifth, and to Brazil on the ninth.

7 News Belize released the following statement from Diana Locke of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding Prince Harry’s upcoming visit to Belize: “We have decided to promote Belize, basically, giving Prince Harry a best of Belizean lifestyle, culture, and what we have to offer from a Tourism perspective. That was of keen interest to the representatives that came here to meet with us. And, from the little that I have seen, I think that our program offers something extremely exciting for him, as opposed to some of his other stops. I’m not say that they are not going to be good, but I think that we’re going to be offering the best option. He is coming to Belize to represent Her Majesty, the Queen, in respect to the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. It’s not the kind of visit that we’ve done for Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, who came to Belize. This is different. It’s a more relaxed visit. It’s not as official as all the others. There is very little official activity in this visit, and I think that’s the way they like to keep it. On the Friday of his arrival, we’re doing a street party in Belmopan where they’re naming the boulevard after her Majesty, the Queen. And that’s where we’re going to have all our cultural entertainment, the party, the local food – that sort of stuff. The entire Belizean population, country-wide, is invited to that event. There are no invitations necessary. We will start from 4 o’clock in the evening. The party is expected to begin. People will be screened when they are going in. And it will run until 10 o’clock in the night. There will also be the drive from the airport, going through Ladyville, though the Boom Road into Belmopan. Unfortunately, he is not going to be able to come into Belize due to the time constraints. So, we’re using that route. People on the streets can actually be out there. We expect that they will slow down, and he will be looking at the villages, as we generally do. And of course, you won’t be able to miss the motorcade.”