Of the events on the spring social calendar, perhaps none was as eagerly anticipated as Andrew and Isabelle’s Garden Party. Not only was it a chance to see the fabled Carrington gardens, mingle with the most interesting members of society and sample the finest dishes England and the Continent could offer up. It was also, for many, an opportunity to get absolutely pie-eyed.

The liveliest of the crowd on this occasion were Andrew’s golfing and tennis buddies — René, Fred, Gene, and Bobby. Fueled by copious amounts of champagne punch, they had gotten up an impromptu cricket game and managed thus far to break two windows, lose three balls into the duck pond and misplace Andrew’s brother, Liam. They were now in the process of denuding Isabelle’s prized hyacinths, having discovered that the bulbs worked quite well as replacement balls, livening the game with a delightful spray of color when hit with a bat.

The party wended its way to a conclusion without too much more damage, though Liam wasn’t found until the next morning. Andrew, taking the air, discovered him in a patch of jonquil, stretched out next to the Duchess of Kent, both of them fast asleep.