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Sarah Hughes, royal correspondent A state banquet is not so much a meal as a dazzling display of pomp and pageantry. Held in honour of a visiting head of state, it is usually the preserve of an elite few. But this summer more than 350,000 people will experience the spectacle. As part of Buckingham Palace's summer opening, which starts on Monday, a state banquet has been recreated in the ballroom. "I think it's such a sumptuous sight that everyone will just gasp in amazement," says the curator Kathryn Jones, "It's a spectacle that's worth seeing." The Queen has held 97 state banquets during her reign - 77 at Buckingham Palace, 18 at Windsor Castle (including the recent banquet for French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni) and two at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The planning for such an occasion... [read full story]
