In Photos: King Charles and Queen Camilla Host First Garden Party of 2026

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King Charles and Queen Camilla, along with Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, seen arriving.

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Queen Camilla also reached into her closet for a familiar look: a pale blue Fiona Clare coat dress and matching hat she previously wore for Easter Sunday in 2025. This is not the first garden party that the Queen has arrived in this look; she wore the same dress for the Holyroodhouse garden party in 2024, that time with the Diamond Thistle Brooch. She wore the dress previously to the York Racecourse in 2024 and 2025 as well.

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King Charles greeted guests at the party.

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A much more informal environment, members of the royal family circulate throughout the grounds and mingle with the guests.

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King Charles spoke with Barbara Keel, a guest who started the Barby Keel Animal Sanctuary in East Sussex, England in 1979. The sanctuary is now home to more than 600 cats, dogs, chickens, pigs, and goats. “It was a bit of a shock because I wasn’t expecting it,” she told BBC News about receiving the invite, adding she was there on behalf of her volunteer staff and the animals. “I’m here doing a job that I love doing and wouldn’t have it any different.”

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Some of the guests appearing to react to something funny while chatting with Queen Camilla.

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Princess Anne switched locations quickly. Wearing one of her favorite vintage coats for the occasion, she was representing her brother at a special ceremony in London’s Hyde Park with the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The Princess Royal serves as a Counsellor of State for King Charles, one of a small group of senior royals authorized to act on the monarch’s behalf when he is absent.

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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh looked ready for spring in a coral pink dress with a lattice straw disc hat by Philip Treacy. The Duchess previously wore this topper to Garter Day in 2019.

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Prince Edward looked dapper in his morning suit and top hat.

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Several senior working royals were in attendance. Among them was Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

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The King also spoke with past winners of the King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS).

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While it was overcast in London on Wednesday, it did not appear to rain. However, the royals, as always, were prepared with umbrellas.

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There was also at least one canine guest. King Charles was given a warm greeting by Vegas, a service animal trained by the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

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Princess Anne also received some affection from Vegas.

Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.

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