A composer, musical director and performer in countless community projects, Matt Baker was invited to attend one of the first garden parties held at Buckingham Palace since 2019.

There were reportedly around 8,000 guests at the event on May 25, which will be the final summer garden party to be held at the palace this year. Mr Baker, who received his British Empire Medal in November last year in a ceremony at Tatton Park, was invited to attend the event, taking along his sister-in-law.

"For me it's an honour which I share with all the choirs and theatre group projects. Through their involvement I've gotten the honour, and it was lovely to share that excitement with all the different groups."

Mr Baker said that he was "totally surprised" when he had been informed that he would receive the award for services to music and the community in The Queen's Birthday Honours list. It was also an emotional time for the Chester resident, who had recently lost his mother.

Chester and District Standard: Matt attended the event with his sister-in-law.Matt attended the event with his sister-in-law.

Describing the event, Matt said: "To be alongside people with such incredible stories, be they people who had worked for many years on projects or who had dedicated their time to charities, or those who were holocaust survivors, there was allsorts of people. It was incredibly humbling."

With the Platinum Jubilee approaching, there was a feeling of added importance, however the preparations did have an unfortunate side effect for Matt and other attendees.

"It was great to be in London as there was this sense of things getting ready for the weekend. There was flags and bunting in Regent Street and along the Mall, allsorts of Marshalls everywhere and stadia going up outside the palace. It was great to feel that we were going along on the eve of a very important time for many people.

"It also meant that all of us with our new shoes had to walk miles and miles, my sister-in-law ended up removing her shoes, because of all the construction going on," he laughs.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosted the garden party on behalf of the Queen and Mr Baker says that "a nice 'hello'" was given to each person as they spoke to various people at the event.

"I can totally understand peoples' varying feelings towards what the royal family represent, but I also saw thousands of people of different backgrounds, colours, cultures and races and that for me was the most remarkable thing. People from every walk of life seemed to have been included, it certainly didn't feel like it was full of privileged people."

Reflecting on the day and receiving his award, Mr Baker said: "It's great to be recognised but I travelled with a member of my family who dedicates her life to the care of her parents and it's people like her and so many who selflessly give to others that won't be recognised, and I always carry that acknowledgement with me."

Matt Baker has been working on a short film entitled Our Jubilee with Chester's Theatre in the Quarter. The film is due to be released this weekend.

Further information is available at: https://theatreinthequarter.co.uk/.