Finally, we reached red carpet and were granted entry to the echoing State
Room, where the picnic was spread out and its creator, the chef Heston
Blumenthal, was available to talk to us about the Sandringham strawberry
crumble’s popping topping. Even so, I was distracted: backstairs at
Buckingham Palace had been so functional, so comfortless.
I found this telling. The Foreign Office, where I once worked, has the
grandest rooms of any government department, but &nda… (View original article)