His Majesty King Charles III often throws lavish banquets for dignitaries and state officials and so it seems only fitting that he would have a table large enough for a bumper guest list. In fact, his Windsor Castle home has a seriously impressive 50-metre-long table!
The incredible piece has recently undergone a dramatic restoration process, as documented by the Royal Collection Trust. They shared a photo of it to their Instagram Stories on Wednesday and included a link so that royal fans could learn more about the painstaking work.
"Decades of old shellac polish [were] removed to reveal high quality Cuban magohany," before new layers of polish were delicately added, the article explained. Taking off the old polish took a staggering three months for a team of people to complete, and then the new polish required a further three months to fully harden.
The fine craftsmanship was finally showcased at the Garter Day luncheon in the Waterloo Chamber in June, and while a lot of guests were in attendance, the table can still hold more…
When it is fully extended, it is actually too big to fit inside the Waterloo Chamber and has to be moved to St George's Hall instead, and then the King is able to host a whopping 160 people at one time! Thank goodness he has a team of chefs, right?
The laying of the table also takes an army of staff, and normally around three days to perfect. We love this fun video shared by RCT, and comedian Tom Allen even declared it his "favourite video of all time"!
Did you know that each person has six glasses? For water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, dessert wine and port, which are all carefully placed in order. Another fun fact is that the place settings are precisely 18 inches apart - with measuring sticks used to ensure absolute precision. Want more fascinating facts? Read our list of banquet rules.
© Alamy Stock Photo
Security measures
© Alamy Stock PhotoSecurity is tight when heads of state are visiting for a banquet and Graham Tinsley MBE, a former royal chef and manager of the Welsh Culinary Team, spoke to HELLO! to recall his experience of the high-profile events. "For higher calibre banquets, we're required to put all our food, containers, knives and kitchen equipment through an X-ray machine whilst motorcycles then drove us into the castle. Some banquets even had code names to protect their security!" he said.
Another must-have is Charles' special cushion which he always has to hand during state banquets. This is because the monarch suffers with back pain and this helps alleviate it when sitting down.
"He always takes a little silver Maldon sea salt container, and his favourite cushion. You can always spot [King] Charles' place setting at a table, because all his bits and pieces are there," Graham explained.
