Tenants Attend Royal Garden Party
Tenants from the Duchy of Lancaster were invited to attend a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 24th May, where they were presented to Her Majesty The Queen as Duke of Lancaster, and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
Her Majesty The Queen Duke of Lancaster greets Her Duchy of Lancaster tenants
Duchy tenants also met Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at this year's Garden Party
Following the initial presentation to The Queen, led by Duchy CEO Mr Nathan Thompson, the Duchy tenants were introduced to Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who were also in attendance.
Each year, one of the three Garden Parties held at Buckingham Palace and attended by The Queen includes guests from the Duchy of Lancaster. A small number of tenants are then formally presented to the Royal Party and introduced to Her Majesty The Queen who, as Duke of Lancaster, owns the land and property assets which form part of this ancient inheritance.
This year, the Duchy tenants included:
Mr and Mrs Jeremy Gosling – who have managed the Peak Caverns tourist attraction in Castleton, Derbyshire for the past 20 years
Mr and Mrs Robin Hancox – who have been growing, packing and distributing vegetables to High Street supermarkets from their farm in Lincolnshire for over 30 years.
Mr and Mrs Nick Hilton – who run a highly successful food production company supplying retailers and manufacturers with dairy based products from the company's headquarters on the Crewe estate in Cheshire.
Mr and Mrs David Hutchinson – who are third generation Duchy farmers, producing a range of high quality arable crops from their farms in Strixton and Knuston in Northamptonshire.
Mr and Mrs Stephen Pugh – who grow a variety of different potato crops on high quality arable land near Drayton in Lincolnshire.
Mr Christopher Sparrow, Head of Rural for the Duchy of Lancaster and James Maxwell, a partner at Farrers LLP, who act for the Duchy, were also in attendance.
Commenting on the day's events, CEO Nathan Thompson said: "It is always a pleasure to be able to present Duchy of Lancaster tenants to Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and for our tenants it is always a very special and memorable day. This year, we were also honoured by the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge."
The Duchy of Lancaster is an ancient inheritance which began in 1265. It includes land and property assets divided into five Rural and one Urban Surveys. The Rural Surveys, which broadly align with County boundaries, are Cheshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, together with Southern which includes land and property in South Wales, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire.