10,000 to join Queen for her 90th birthday charity lunch

Britain will celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday this summer with Pimm’s and PG Tips at the biggest street party the country has ever seen.

The Patron’s Lunch is the highlight of a weekend of events paying tribute to the monarch’s life and achievements.

She is said to be ‘really excited’ about the party designed to celebrate her role as patron of more than 600 national and Commonwealth organisations.

The Queen will attend as guest of honour along with Prince Philip and grandsons William and Harry, who are joint presidents of the event, as well as other royals.

But there was concern last night after it emerged that charities which have the monarch as their patron are being charged £150 per person to join the official celebration on The Mall. Although the vast majority of the 10,000 places are being ‘made available’ to organisations with close links to the Queen, they will be charged for the privilege.

Guest of honour: The Patron's Lunch will be the highlight of a weekend of scheduled events paying tribute to the Queen's achievements

Royal party: Some 10,000 people are estimated to be in attendance, including Prince Philip and the Queen's grandsons William and Harry. Pictured, revellers turn out for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee street party

Around 1,000 tickets will also be sold through a public ballot in early March. Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips, who is organising the event, insisted yesterday that the charge was necessary. He said that the street party is ‘not a cheap exercise’ and there is a shortfall between what is being provided by sponsors and the cost of staging the vast event. He also stressed that it is a not-for-profit event and any extra money raised would be distributed back to charity.

But questions were being asked about why organisations supported by the monarch should be asked to meet the cost of attending an official royal celebration of their role out of their own funds. There are also fears the event could turn into a corporate jamboree after it was revealed that those taking part are also being allowed to auction off 40 per cent of their ticket allocation in order to cover the cost of their own staff attending.

That means a significant proportion of attendees may have simply ‘bought’ their way in and not have any affiliation with the charities the event is designed to promote.

One charity worker who asked not to be named described the charging policy as a ‘sting in the tail’, but added: ‘It’s [still] an incredible honour.’ Another said: ‘Many of the charities weren’t deeply excited [about the plans for a lunch]. I feel we are still waiting for the big sell. I think it’s not clear there will be any opportunities to promote our work and that is a disappointment. I think it’s not very clear what we are doing apart from sitting at tables on The Mall.’