Joel Cadbury, chair of the Royal Parks Foundation and Fernanda Kellogg, chair of the board of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation hosted a celebration event yesterday to open the newly restored Italian Gardens in Kensington Gardens, including the fountain made famous when Hugh Grant and Colin Firth wrestled over Renée Zellweger in its basin in 2004.
Guests including Nell McAndrew, Ben and Marina Fogle, Caroline Spencer, Lord Mayor of Westminster Cllr Susie Burbridge, Duncan Goodhew and Giorgio Locatelli soaked up an Italian atmosphere with entertainment from soprano Joanne Grey, as they took in the restored glory of the first days of the gardens in the 1860s, when they were created by one of the most romantic couples Britain has ever known: a gift from Albert to his beloved Queen Victoria.
Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli’s two sweet canapés inspired by the Italian Gardens went down a treat with our guests. Using seasonal Italian ingredients including lemon thyme and the first cut of spring wheat, his beautiful canapés celebrated the new life of spring, as well as the new life breathed into the beautifully restored gardens through the Tiffany – Across the Water restoration programme.
The Italian Gardens restoration is the final element of a programme of work restoring ornamental and drinking fountains across the Royal Parks made possible by a $1.25 million grant (£784,000) from The Tiffany & Co. Foundation to the Royal Parks Foundation (USA), a charity established to enable Americans to support the natural history and heritage of London’s Royal Parks.
27 April 2012
