November 16th, 2024

Featured speaker Sir Charles Gladstone, 8th Bt., the great-great-grandson of four-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone

The Royal Oak Foundation held their annual benefit Gala at a private club in NYC.  The Gala is the principal annual event supporting Royal Oak’s work as the American membership affiliate of the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which cares for over 500 historic properties, 775 miles of coastline, and 650,000 acres of countryside.

Featured speaker Sir Charles Gladstone, 8th Bt., the great-great-grandson of four-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone, in conversation with former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan, discussed the estates and properties he inherited across Great Britain, particularly Wales and Scotland, and the work he has done to restore them and make them thrive.

Gemma Sudlow of the esteemed Freeman’s Hindman Auction House led a fabulous and lively auction. Some of the items included a luxury trip to London with Upper-Class tickets on Virgin Atlantic, a stay at the five-star Kensington Hotel, a luxury Doyle collection hotel in South Kensington, a VIP experience at Hawarden Castle in Wales (once home to four-time Prime Minister, William Gladstone); and a British Pullman, A Belmond Train, England, Lunch, Tea or Dinner experience.

Diageo arranged for a specialty cocktail with Oban scotch whisky; UK-based Hattingley Valley donated sparkling wine, and Whittard of Chelsea provided beautiful boxes of tea for guests to take home.

 

Photo Credit: Annie Watt