LONDON LETTER/Lynne O'Donnell: Even as the tide of republican discontent laps at the lawns of Buckingham Palace, an invitation to afternoon tea with the queen provides a grand opportunity to see her realm in all its diverse glory.
The 8,000 people who joined me for tea in the queen's private garden this week represented a snapshot of all that has been great about Britain, coming as they did from every corner of the earth, and in every shape, colour and creed of the modern Briton.
Around 25,000 people will be invited to take tea with the monarch at four garden parties this summer and for most, who regard the invitation as a royal thanks for selfless public service, the chance of meeting her can be the crowning moment of a lifetime.
Some, like Maj David Oak, go to extremes to tip the odds their way: he wore his red-and-beige Cheshire Regiment tie and stood near the marble rear terrace of the palace when the royal family appeared on the dot of four o'clock. As Maj Oak knew he would, Prince Charles - colonel-in-chief of the regiment since 1977 - spotted the tie and stopped for a chat as Maj Oak introduced two excited sisters who had elbowed their way to the front.
Tejal and Neetal Parekh were invited because their mother will receive an MBE in November in recognition of her work for racial equality. "I asked him about Prince William," said Tejal (22), wearing turquoise sari and diamante bindi. "He said he wished someone would ask him about himself for a change."
The queen's tea parties have been a fixture of the season since being introduced by Queen Victoria in 1860. A strict dress code - lounge or morning suit for men, day dress and hat for ladies - ensures a glamorous queue stretches across the palace forecourt before guests are guided through the gates, across the gravelled quadrangle, through the reception hall of the original building and out to the queen's private garden.
The gardens have changed little since the conversion of Buckingham House to a palace in 1825 and are a splendid combination of sweeping lawns, arbours of roses, secluded grottos, and the odd aberration like the oak planted by the queen on her coronation in 1953.
On the south-western flank is a large lake, known as "the fish pond" when it was created from the overflow of Hyde Park's Serpentine and considered a possible culprit, later cleared, in the death from cholera in 1861 of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort.
The lake attracts lots of water fowl, including grebe, mallards and geese, and a recent survey by the London Natural History Society found 350 wild flowers and two new species of fungus, including a small mushroom discovered in a bed of holly bushes. Huge marquees served afternoon tea - chocolate cake, salmon sandwiches, miniature éclairs and summer fruit tarts. The bands of the Irish Guards and the Prince of Wales's Division (Lucknow) played an eclectic selection including a medley of James Bond film scores and the theme of My Fair Lady.
As the hour of the queen's descent approached, thousands lined the lawn leading to the royal tea tent. At precisely 4 p.m., the sovereign, along with Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Edward and Sophie Wessex, appeared at her back door and the bands struck up the national anthem. Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen and The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, in black morning suits and top hats, a red carnation button hole and a furled umbrella, formed a circle at a discreet distance around each royal.
Taking tea were Colin and Pamela Prescott, Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Swale in Kent, resplendent in their ceremonial brass. "It's a wonderful privilege to be here, nice to be in the grounds of Buckingham Palace with the possible option of meeting the queen," Mr Prescott said.
"I hope I meet my mentor," said Mrs Prescott, who has worked for a decade for the Prince's Trust youth charity extending low-interest loans to people who would not qualify for bank loans but have entrepreneurial potential. "I'd like to meet the man whose idea it was." Many invitations are distributed by the lords lieutenant, the queen's regional representatives, who pass them on to people like Mr Bob Twitchin and his wife, Diana, both of whom are wheelchair-bound and work for the disabled.
Mrs Twitchin was at Buckingham Palace 23 years ago, when she was with the health charity, the King's Fund. "It was the International Year of the Disabled, and it was freezing cold. We had tea in the royal tent that day, and I remember it was the most wonderful cup of tea I'd ever had, because it was hot," she said.
"It's extra special, you get to dress up. People can be dismissive of the royals, in an anti-monarchical way, but for me they provide a sense of security, much more than in a presidential system." This time, it was Mr Twitchin's turn for recognition after seven years chairing the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications working on services for the hearing and speech disabled.
Invitations, large yellow cards with instructions to leave mobile phones and cameras at home, also go to embassies - which explained the presence of Jonathan Magnusen, head of the consular section of the Ghanaian embassy. He wore national dress, a hand-woven cotton robe, called a kente, in bright red, yellow and green which he wrapped around one shoulder over a lace shirt. "Textiles are a very important industry in Ghana," he said.
Former cabinet ministers, assorted minor aristocrats and currently vogue celebrities, like author Lynne Truss, also help make up the numbers.