London Travel Story 2023
London: High Season
May, June and July mark the high season in London, with the Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Ascot horse racing, Wimbledon tennis tournament and rich cultural offerings including museum exhibitions, theater productions, and art fairs, like the new Treasure House established by founders of the venerable Masterpiece London, which was discontinued in 2023. Obtaining entree to such attractions takes planning, so here’s my experience this year, a fall primer to help you plan your springtime visit – these events are all favorites of the royal family, and tickets go fast!
Chelsea Flower Show, May 21-24, 2024
The British love their gardens, and this Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) annual event never disappoints. Beginning in 1913 in a single tent, the flower show has grown through the years into perhaps the world’s largest flower show. A staple on the royal calendar, the Princess of Wales, aka Kate Middleton, attended the show’s first-ever Children’s Picnic on opening day. King Charles and Queen Camilla, Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent all followed suit. Princess Beatrice was on hand with her husband, Edoardo Mapello Mozzi, and Princess Diana’s nieces, Amelia and Eliza Spencer, also stopped by.
Oh, and in addition to people-watching, there were more than 30 colorful gardens by master landscape artists from around the world, including twelve main show gardens, and over 500 exhibitors to inspire your green thumb. Rhs.org.uk
The Royal Ascot, June 18-22, 2024
The Royal Ascot races were actually founded by Queen Anne, in 1711, and to this day it’s a must for the British royal family. It was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth’s and this year her family members
continued the tradition – King Charles and Queen Camilla attended all five days in 2023. Charles’s brother, Prince Edward, and sister, Princess Anne, and her husband Timothy Laurence were regulars at the races. The Prince and Princess of Wales, better known as William and Kate, put in an appearance, riding in a carriage together with William’s cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapello Mozzi. There were celebs, like Judi Dench, and even more royals, too many to list here. King Charles’s horse even won a race! Children under age ten are not permitted in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, even the King’s grandchildren are not allowed. Will wonders never cease!
And there were hats, naturally. In fact, the Royal Ascot has a strict dress code, so you may need to visit your tailor if you’re attending: men must wear “a full morning suit with waistcoat and either a black or grey top hat at all times,” and women need to wear hats, and dresses that cover their shoulders.
Membership in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot is by invitation only, requiring recommendation from two members. However, you may be invited as a guest of a current member, so start making friends among the upper crust horsey set. You can also contact the American Embassy as they may be able to help you. New Yorkers at Ascot included SOMOS Community Care founder Dr. Ramon Tallaj and his wife hat designer Ines Hernandez who wore one of the events most stunning confections.
Wimbledon, July 1-Jul 14, 2024
The tennis Championships – the only ones played on grass courts – are also a favorite of the royals. They were all there in 2023, as at the above-mentioned events, but William and Kate also brought their young kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Wimbledon draws a lot of celebrities as well. Spotted this year: Bridgerton stars Nicola Coughlan and Phoebe Dynevor; Hannah Waddingham of Ted Lasso; plus Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig, Lily James, Ariana Grande, Tom Hiddleston, Andrew Garfield, Nick Jonas, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Tessa Thompson, Emma Watson and Idris Elba. Fab fashion is de rigueur at the matches, but there is no dress code, and hats are not required. Wimbledon.com
Treasure House Art Fair & Galerie Gmurzynska, June 2024
The new Treasure House Fair stepped up to replace the former Masterpiece London, which was discontinued in 2023. Founded by two of Masterpiece’s original founders, Harry Van der Hoorn and Thomas Woodham-Smith, Treasure House is aptly named – its mission is to bring together the finest in all disciplines of collecting – fine art, furniture design old and new, sculpture, jewelry, clocks, and antiquities. In fact, there is no limit or dateline to what can be shown, so long as it is the best in its class.
Held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the inaugural show had about 55 dealers participating, including London’s Adrian Sassoon, D.C.’s Geoffrey Diner Gallery, renowned as a major dealer of works by George Nakashima, New York-based silver specialist S.J. Shrubsole, and Galerie Gmurzynska, a modern art dealer with locations in New York, Zurich, and Zug, Switzerland. treasurehousefair.com
Highlights at Gmurzynska’s exhibit was a mix of Nouveau Realism, Surrealism and Pop Art by artists who had a decisive impact on the course of the 20th century. Proprietor Isabelle Bscher
showed an extraordinary Yves Klein “fire painting,” from 1961, and works by two of South America’s major Surrealists, Chinese Cuban Wifredo Lam, and Chilean Roberto Matta, both of whose estates Galerie Gmurzynska represents.
She also included Marjorie Strider’s pop-infused painting Red Rose (2010), notable as the centerpiece of an acclaimed retrospective for the previously underappreciated artist at Gmurzynska’s New York gallery last year. Strider’s bold experiments in male-dominated 1960s-70s New York had her push the boundaries of painting into the third dimension with her sculpture-like build outs of pin-up girls.
Additionally, the gallery devoted a room to the photographer Johnny Pigozzi, who showed some of his large-scale portraits of his celebrity friends, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Kate Moss. Pigozzi, who Vanity Fair credited with inventing the selfie, also showed some edgy underwater photography from his summertime home in Cap d’Antibes.
Another stellar piece was a large, abstract landscape by Catalan painter Joan Miró. The piece has brought Michael Douglas’ iconic role as the greedy and shady Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street” back into the conversation with billionaire financiers and art collectors. Oliver Stone directed the 1987 film, which also stared Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, and Charlie Sheen, and featured the green and black Miró painting called “Paysage” that he placed behind Douglas’ character’s desk. In the film Douglas, as Gekko, says “This painting here, I bought it ten years ago for $60,000 now I could sell it today for $600,000.” Thirty-six years later, this piece of Hollywood history was listed for over $10 million by Bscher’s Galerie Gmurzynska. Douglas and Stone are probably ruing the day they didn’t take the painting home from the set, now that the value has increased over 1,000 percent. The painting was also included in the recent Miró retrospective at the Nouveau Musée Nationale of Monaco. gmurzynska.com
National Portrait Gallery Newly Renovated
London’s famous National Portrait Gallery is ripe for a revisit – it just reopened after a three-year renovation, the building’s biggest transformation since it opened in 1896. And the changes start at the front doors, which now sport 45 carved brass panels representing “every woman, throughout time”, by artist Tracey Ermin, who was commissioned for the piece.
40th birthday portraits of the Princess of Wales – Kate Middleton – that were temporarily shown in various venues around the UK during the renovations, will be permanently hung in the space. These portraits are still quite new, as Kate is just 41 now.
Kate has a special relationship with the National Portrait Gallery, as it’s one of her longest associations – she became the museum’s royal patron in her first year as a member of “the firm.” She did the honors, presiding over the grand reopening on July 4. Also present at the opening were Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell; the musician’s extraordinary cache of never-before-seen photos from the earliest days of the Beatles’ rise to fame are currently on display through October 23. Truly a must-see if in London. Npg.org
West End Shows: Crazy for You, Brokeback Mountain & Magic Mike
I took in some extraordinary musicals. “Crazy for You” is a dream of magical dancing by the supremely talented double threat Susan Stroman, who won her first Tony Award for choreography for this show’s 1991 Broadway debut. Stroman, who has gone on to win a slew of Tonys, Oliviers, Drama Desk and many other awards, also directed this production, which runs through January 20, 2024.
“Brokeback Mountain” stars Mike Fiast and Lucas Hedges, who have both been in Oscar nominated films including, respectively, West Side Story and Manchester by the Sea. This sexy love story is about two closeted cowboys and pays homage to both the original novella by Annie Proulx and the screen adaptation, in which Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger played the leads, written by my former professor Larry McMurtry, who won an Oscar for his script. Fiast and Hedges have some very hot make out sessions on the stage that surprised some theater goers. Although the spectacular show had a limited run on the West End, it’s rumored to be making its way to Broadway with the same stellar cast.
“Magic Mike Live”is another dance extravaganza, and it is immersive – like being at a club. Conceived and co-directed by Channing Tatum, it is not just the strip tease show you’d imagine, it’s also a dance spectacular with a feminist message. A critic summed it up nicely writing “Trying to scribble in your notebook while dodging a pair of legs akimbo is not a typical problem in the life of a theatre reviewer.” This is a fun evening, especially for a group of girls or gay men. The show, which is headed to Broadway next year, runs on the West end through June 30, 2024.
Spencer House – Princess Diana’s family home
This is the house that love built; so it’s understandable that couples Nicky Hilton and James Rothschild and exes Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdock decided to have their wedding parties at Spencer
House. This magnificent 18th century” pile” is owned by the late Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, and is the last remaining private palace in London. It began in 1756 as a love nest by John, First Earl Spencer for his 18-year-old bride Georgiana Poyntz. The couple married secretly during a ball marking his coming of age at Althrop, still the Spencer family seat, where Princess Diana is buried.
The young lovers were both exceedingly wealthy and the diamond buckles on his wedding shoes were said to have set him back $50k, so a proper house in town was called for. Lord Spencer chose John Vardy as his original architect, and he designed the exterior facades of the magnificent mansion. In 1758 Spencer switched directions and hired James ‘Athenian’ Stuart who created the astonishing neo–classical interiors with Greek details that remain today. The house was completed in 1766 and immediately declared one of the finest houses that had ever been built in London. In 1986 the financier Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild and a cousin of Nicky Hilton’s husband James, secured a 96-year lease and paid to restore the house, state rooms and garden to their original splendor. Lord Rothschild uses the house’s upper floors as his offices. The late Queen Elizabeth and her Prime Ministers would go to Spencer House for quiet talks away from the gossips who lurk in the corridors of Buckingham Palace. The house’s staterooms and gardens can be rented for private events, and it is open to the public on Sundays and should not be missed. spencerhouse.co.uk
The Churchill War Rooms
The Churchill War Rooms, where the British government secretly ran the military affairs for World War II, is one of the most interesting sights in London. On a visit, former couple, Brad Pitt offered Angelina Jolie the chair from which Winston Churchill ran World War II from a bunker buried deep under London to escape Hitler’s bombs. Jolie settled into the wooden chair with a red leather seat and noticed that the ends of both arms were deeply gouged. As she ran her fingers over them, Angie asked Phil Reed, then the director of the Churchill War Rooms, why they were damaged. He said, “The Prime Minister scratched the right one with his nails and the left one was scraped by the nervous pounding of his pinky ring over the ten months the Nazis attacked London and ran unchecked over Europe.”
President Bill Clinton and Elton John have also made the pilgrimage to this historic site. The Cabinet Room originally belonged to Neville Chamberlain but was only used once during his tenure as Prime Minister, in 1939. Iwm.org
The Hari Hotel
I stayed at the Hari, in Belgravia, which is perfectly located, within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and the high-end shopping in Knightsbridge, with stores like Harvey Nichols
and Harrods. The 5-star hotel’s ambience, even in this glitzy location, feels like laid-back, clubby luxury, with exposed brick and bright blue velvet furnishings in the public spaces. The hotels spacious second floor lounge, overlooking the park, has multiple secluded seating areas where you can read the papers or work on your computer uninterrupted. Order a yummy Cesar salad with chicken or shrimp or try the juicy burger served with their terrific French fries. The bar serves Dom Ruinart champagne, my personal favorite.
The service at the Hari is stellar, the professional staff responds to requests immediately, and they’ll easily accommodate any personal preferences you may have. The gym has a Peloton bike, and the hotel has a fleet of bicycles that guests can borrow free of charge.
With 85 cozy rooms, including 14 suites and a swanky penthouse, the Hari has a chic boutique feel. The rooms have luxury features like marble bathrooms, jewel-toned furnishings, plants and complimentary minibars. That said, all rooms aren’t created equal here so be sure to request a large room or a suite with a view of the beautiful park. My top choice is the perfectly appointed penthouse.
Il Pampero, the Hari’s Italian restaurant, is a standout, with homemade pastas – my favorite is the cacio e pepe, simply divine – plus steaks and terrific desserts. They also serve a very good breakfast. thehari.com
