Africa-Press – Uganda. Earlier this year I was having a conversation with my main mentor Denis Mugagga of the Ganda Boys and he said, “you work so hard…One day you will be rewarded for your humanitarian services and, it will get you to Buckingham Palace”.
My reply to him was that I could not go before him, as he has worked twice as much as myself.
On May 31, I received a message from the Uganda High Commission stating that I had been identified as one of the prominent Ugandans in the UK and that I should send my profile for consideration to attend the Commonwealth reception in Buckingham Palace.
I first thought it was an error or scam, but again it was addressed to me. I immediately sent my profile because I always have it handy.
Two days later, I was asked to send my home address since my invitation would be sent there. I obliged and I also ran to my kagezimunnyo (genius) Denis and inquired about the possibility of this happening since he always pushes me for the best.
I did not hear from them, one month later. I started thinking it was all a dream. I called to ask anyway and they,‘were still doing background checks for security purposes’.
Mail arrived
Ten days after the call, I was seated on my computer (it was half term and the children were home). My youngest son took the mail and said: “Mum this is for you. “What a nice envelope!”
My older son added, “Nancy Kitaka, Buckingham Palace, [this mail] looks important”.
At that moment, I jumped out of the chair and as I opened the card, with my name clearly printed on, my mother, family and friends cheered me on. I had been invited by the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall Camilla.
My head was bursting with what am I was going to wear, my hairstyle, what I would say to the prince, the future King of England, Camilla and all the Royals.
The D-day
When the big day came I did my hair at my local hairdresser’s, then through a teleconference, Tina Kitaka, my sister in Uganda told me to wear a gomesi which my mother helped me to choose.
Just before heading to the palace, we met at the Uganda High Commission where the acting ambassador for Uganda to the UK, Ambassador John Leonard Mugerwa gave us tips on what to expect and how to conduct ourselves.
We had to be there between 3pm and 3.30pm. The Uganda High Commission is only a 10minute-walk from Buckingham, however they kindly provided transport for us. At the entrance, the palace guards met us and thoroughly checked the ins and outs of the car, identification, and did a proper bag search. They were very polite, actually, the most polite security team I have ever met.
We all looked sophisticated and classy. At the reception for the members of the Commonwealth, I immediately spotted Oswald Boateng OBE who also recognised me. We had our name tags on, thus it was easy to address other guests but I had interviewed him at the Abryanz Fashion and Style Awards in Kampala, Uganda.
In the palace
Walking into the palace, it was breath-taking. Inside, all draped with gold and red, grand poles and chandeliers. The palace staff clad in black and white, others in black, red and gold with a guard at every three metres. It felt like a totally different world. The music, and air were different.
I actually gazed at everything as I walked up the grand stairs to our reception hall. We sipped our champagne to our fill, dug into a full course of finger foods. All this time, I still could not help but gaze around. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I always dreamt of meeting the royals.
As soon as Prince Charles and Camilla walked in, the violin band played a welcome ballad for them. Cheers were inevitably heard among the guests. And, some smiled uncontrollably. Suddenly, we started to position ourselves to meet the future king.
Eventually, the time that felt like forever, was here. It was my turn. I met Prince Charles and we exchanged a firm handshake. He asked about my work and I told him about my recently launched Charlie Mugga Cancer Initiative, and he congratulated me.
The feeling of being in the same place with the royals was overwhelming; the anxieties, the panic were all unbelievable.
It was a two hours reception, we were not allowed to take our phones in with us, we could not take our own shots but yes there were professional photographers who took our pictures as we spoke to the Future Kings. What a day to remember.
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