Apeksha Naik
7 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
If you wish to nominate individuals to attend a Royal Garden Party, please complete the following web form by Friday 30 October 2026:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WPEUMZ/
If you submit multiple nominations, please complete a separate form for each one, and provide an indication of your priority order in a covering email. Please do not nominate individuals for a Royal Garden Party place if you have recently nominated them for an Honour. Applications will then be reviewed by the DfT Honours Committee and we will be in touch early in 2027 to let you know the outcome.
The below Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document gives more information.
What are Royal Garden Parties?
One of the ways the Royal Family celebrates the good work people do is by hosting Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace in London and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Thousands of people attend these events annually, dressing up in their finest outfits and enjoying refreshments and walking around the gardens. Members of the Royal Family speak to as many people as possible.
Where and when are the parties held?
The parties are usually held at Buckingham Palace in London in May and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in June/July.
How do you decide who goes to which location?
Individuals who live or work in Scotland or Northern Ireland, or have made a strong contribution to Scottish/Northern Irish life, will generally be invited to the Holyroodhouse garden party. Otherwise individuals will be invited to the Buckingham Palace garden party.
How are guests selected?
Nominations are sought from across the transport sector. This includes transport operators, charities, Government Departments, Arms’ Length Bodies, local Government and stakeholder groups. We aim to achieve a representative cross section of the transport sector. It is not possible to acquire invitations to the parties through direct application to Buckingham Palace.
How many places are available?
This can vary each year, with our allocations set by Buckingham Palace and the Scottish Government respectively. We will always aim to fill all of the places that we are allocated.
How does the nomination process work?
We ask everyone to submit a nomination form for each person that they wish to nominate. The nominations are then assessed by the DfT Honours committee, with the strongest ones being put forward to Buckingham Palace/the Scottish Government, pending approval by the DfT Permanent Secretary.
What makes a good nomination?
While there is no prescriptive format for nominations, we would recommend focusing primarily on what makes the individual stand out from others in their area/organisation. This could include distinguished service over a long period of time, an outstanding contribution for a specific project, voluntary work, or involvement in staff networks.
What checks do I need to do for my nomination?
We ask that all nominators ensure that their nominee has no significant performance or conduct issues, and that there is no issue that they are aware of relating to the nominee that may cause reputational damage/embarrassment further down the line.
Why do we need to fill in nomination forms when we didn’t have to do this previously?
With increased demand for places, particularly following two years when the parties did not take place during the pandemic, we want to ensure that the process is as fair as possible, and that organisations from across the transport sector have the chance to nominate people to attend. In order to do this, we believe that a process that allows nominations to be assessed fairly, while being more light-touch than the honours process, is a proportionate approach.
Is there a limit to how many individuals we can nominate from my team/organisation?
We ask that no more than 10 individuals are nominated from any individual organisation given the limited number of places available. If you are submitting multiple nominations, please indicate your priority order.
How does this link to the Honours process?
We consider nominations for Royal Garden Parties separately to Honours nominations. However, if we believe that a Royal Garden Party nomination would be more suitable as an Honours nominations, or vice versa, we will let the nominator know.
Are nominees allowed to bring guests to the Royal Garden Party?
Each person nominated is allowed to bring one guest aged over 18. We will ask for details of guests for successful invitees nearer the time. The guest should not have attended a Royal Garden Party previously.
What are the nationality/residence requirements for those attending?
Nominees must be resident in the UK in order to be eligible to attend the Royal Garden Party. There are no nationality restrictions for attendees.
Is Buckingham Palace/Holyroodhouse Palace accessible for those with disabilities?
The palaces make every effort to ensure that those with disabilities can attend. For successful nominees, we will be in contact later to ask about any accessibility requirements.
Can someone attend a Royal Garden Party twice?
We generally aim to prioritise people who have not attended a Royal Garden Party before when assessing nominations. If someone has previously attended, unless there are exceptional circumstances they are unlikely to be offered a place again.
Can someone receive an Honour and attend a Royal Garden Party?
This is possible if someone has demonstrated further achievements since the original Honour/garden party nomination. However, we only expect individuals to be considered for either an Honour or a garden party at any one time.