A TEENAGER from Witton-le-Wear whose career ambition is to become a Royal Press Photographer made another step towards that goal this week.
17-year-old Lewis Langstaff-Wood, a farmer’s son, travelled overnight to London – on a bus – accompanied by his long suffering mother, Laura to witness the State Opening of Parliament. But it was even more exciting than that! Lewis was surprised and delighted to receive a Royal Press Pass to enable him to take his photographs – and videos – from the prime position that is the Victoria Memorial, directly in front of Buckingham Palace and with the perfect view of that AND The Mall.
Here, Lewis, who is also a talented writer, tells the story himself:
Where do I start with this?
In July 2024, on a scorching summer day, The King opened Parliament following the general election. Little did we know it would be another 20 months until we saw this traditionally annual ceremony again.
On 13th May 2026, the date was finally set, and The King opened the second session of the Parliament elected at the 2024 General Election, beginning a new session amidst a period of great political drama within the executive. I had the absolute pleasure of accredited access to the Queen Victoria Memorial opposite Buckingham Palace to photograph proceedings outside of Parliament throughout the day.
We travelled through the night on the overnight coach from Middlesbrough, which was delayed, though I actually managed to get quite a bit of sleep – unusual for these events where we usually travel by car. We arrived at Victoria at around 7am, stocked up on essentials at McDonald’s, and headed for the Palace.
It was my first royal trip to London of the year as the ceremonial season begins. We found a spot, although I wasn’t staying in it myself – Mam needed somewhere to stay and my friend, Kayden, was joining us later.
It was close to the Queen Victoria Memorial (QVM) and relatively quiet until I left before 9. I had to head to Canada Gate to collect my accreditation and get my bags checked. I didn’t really feel welcome, as is often the case in the majority of these environments, but regardless I carried on.
We were escorted by police onto QVM. It felt surreal standing on the monument unpacking my bag. There was quite a wait before any real action. I was recognised and offered a lemon sherbet by another photographer, which genuinely made my morning after the cold reception I’d felt earlier. He asked if I was the “young prodigy”, which I found amusing – he recognised me from an old article and knew I was from Durham. It was honestly quite honouring to be recognised like that.
Our first bit of action came around quarter to ten when tricolour service marched from Wellington Barracks. From then on it became a constant stream of contingents, bands and Foot Guards flowing from Wellington and up The Mall. It was incredible watching them march through. Soon the Foot Guards of the Household Division lined The Mall in a meticulous process that was fascinating to watch, before forming outside Buckingham Palace.
Not long afterwards, the Household Cavalry took position, Major General James Bowder arrived at Canada Gate, and the first carriages from the Royal Mews appeared. At this point it was sunny. Five minutes later, hailstones. Two minutes later, heavy rain. It became an operation to save my gear – not ideal with a rented lens either. I had nothing to cover my bags with and struggled to shield the kit, with nothing to wipe it down either. Luckily, this equipment is weather-sealed to some degree.
The Major General headed up The Mall as the thick rain swept in. At 10:40, the Imperial State Crown, alongside the Cap of Maintenance, departed Buckingham Palace in the Queen Alexandra State Coach en route to Westminster. Noticeably, the Crown had been angled differently – normally you can only photograph the side of it, but I managed to get the full shot with the Black Prince’s Ruby visible. Following behind were two of the Royal ceremonial maces in another carriage.
The King and Queen left Clarence House ten minutes later – I seemed to be the only one who noticed and remembered, meanwhile I missed the carriages of the Sovereign’s Procession entering the Palace, only catching the rear of the Irish State Coach entering the Quadrangle. It was a surprise to see the Irish State Coach used, as it hasn’t appeared at a State Opening since 2013 following the introduction of the modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach – complete with air conditioning, larger windows and all the modern trimmings that especially photographers appreciate.
The same can’t quite be said for the Irish State Coach. I still haven’t found a reason why; perhaps The King simply wanted to lean into tradition again, or perhaps there was an issue with the Diamond Jubilee coach. The rain thundered down. At exactly 11, the Irish State Coach departed the Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace, the Royal Salute sounded, and then the National Anthem rang out as the coach emerged beneath the archway.
I remember taking my eye away from the viewfinder for a second whilst swapping cameras just to take it in. I had a lump in my throat. I genuinely couldn’t believe I was there. All those years as a kid watching these events on television, then working my way here, and now here it was right in front of me. If the anthem didn’t already move me, as it always does when played by the bands, the reality of the moment certainly did.
I wish Auntie Sheila and Grandad were here to see it.
The King, wearing the uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet, appeared serious as he usually does at this event. I struggled to get photographs of The Queen, who was wearing the George IV State Diadem, because of her position within the coach and simply the choice of coach itself. As before with the Imperial State Crown, I ran around the Memorial following the procession until it disappeared up The Mall.
While The King was in Parliament dealing with his reckless MPs, members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery prepared a 41-gun salute in Green Park, which I had a perfect view of once Canada Gate opened. By this point the weather had cleared up too, of course. I got my steps in doing laps of QVM while attempting to file photographs to Alamy through an awful signal.
The King returned down The Mall at around 12:10 after delivering the Speech from the Throne in the House of Lords. It was exactly the sight I’d hoped for. The heavens looked ready to open once again, naturally timed for The King’s return, but thankfully it held off. The Crown returned five minutes later. The King’s Troop then lined up outside Buckingham Palace ready for a march past within the Quadrangle.
While everyone, myself included, was reviewing photographs, I suddenly looked up and spotted The King standing on a dais in the Quadrangle reviewing the troops. I rushed down immediately, nobody else had noticed at first, though they soon followed. What a shot it was through the archway. I stayed a little longer before packing up and being escorted back to Canada Gate.
I walked around to the barriers on The Mall and caught what I presumed was The King and Queen leaving Buckingham Palace, so naturally I decided to video it instead. Massive regret. I missed an absolutely smashing portrait of The Queen alone in the Diadem looking directly towards me. I don’t know how I’ll get over that one. I then had to walk a fair distance up The Mall to cross over, eventually reuniting with Mam and Kayden.
The weather was causing chaos again, we were soaked, especially my shoes after I slipped into a gutter on QVM and flooded them. In hindsight, perhaps the net trainers weren’t the cleverest choice, even if they were comfortable. We headed to the café in St James’s Park and sat under the canopy, I quite enjoy being out in the elements. Then came hail again, followed somehow by what felt like a full pollen storm. We were all suffering, even me once it started catching the back of my throat.
After a while we headed over to Victoria for Five Guys. It ended up becoming our temporary office for two hours while I repeatedly stepped outside trying to get enough signal to file photographs, we had a burger too of course.
We returned to the Palace at around half five where police were gathered around QVM – the Prime Minister was in for his weekly audience. He had just arrived, and I spotted a gap through one of the Palace arches where his car was visible, particularly notable given current circumstances. These audiences usually last around twenty minutes, though Keir Starmer remained inside for over an hour, and interestingly The King departed first.
They repositioned Starmer’s car before he left so I couldn’t get a proper shot, though I managed a video at the gates despite the blacked-out windows. With that, our day was really over. Train home, a luxury for once, and yet more rain showers.
My favourite day in the royal calendar; not quite as chaotically overwhelming as Trooping the Colour, but with more than enough pageantry… and that wonder of a Crown.
What a day man
