The London parties to be seen at this summer: Wimbledon, The Serpentine, V&A summer party and all the best social soirees

This week's V&A bash was the official start of London’s summer of parties. Your invitation may have been lost in the post, but fear not — The Londoner’s Phoebe Luckhurst has drunk the champagne so you don't have to
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For civilians, summer means spending July and August in the office while your manager takes four consecutive two-week holidays (you like every Instagram post, hating yourself) and — if the weather holds — a barbecue over the August bank holiday weekend.

But if you are one of the glitterati, it is unlikely that you have an office or a manager — a barbecue is the sort of thing you attend only if it is ironic, and catered by Hawksmoor, with Moët & Chandon doing the drinks.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Royal Ascot
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Instead, these preening peacocks have a carousel of razzle-dazzling parties to attend, each cordoned off from the plebs by velvet rope and several 20-stone bruisers who are impervious to charm, flattery and feminine wiles.

The Royal Academy summer bash kicked the season off last Wednesday, with attendees including party stalwarts Alexa Chung and Grimmy, the elegant Roksanda Ilincic and Erdem Moralioglu, plus leftfield guest Kylie Minogue — in the UK ahead of her Glastonbury legends slot next week — dressed in high-end tinfoil by Ralph & Russo.

Kylie Minogue 
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Depending on your emotional state, a glimpse at how this other half lives is either thrilling or masochistic, so consider this a trigger warning. What follows is a guide to this summer’s most exquisite and exclusive events — you’re almost definitely not on the list.

The V&A Summer Party

Jenna Coleman
PA

Who’s who?

London’s answer to the Met Ball took place in South Kensington last night, in association with Dior — whose landmark exhibition was one of the museum’s most popular ever.

Reason to celebrate then, and guests including Tristram Hunt, Nicholas Coleridge, Zadie Smith and her husband Nick Laird, actors Cressida Bonas and Jenna Coleman and the entire cast of the BBC’s Years and Years did so, long after darkness fell, in the museum’s spectacular John Madejski Garden.

Riz Ahmed and Noomi Rapace
PA

The menu : Smoked chicken wonton, micro-brioche topped with caviar and crème fraîche, and fancy edamame peas. The champagne was Ruinart. There was also a Willy Wonka-style sweet shop dispensing macarons and chocolate mousses; the pièce de résistance was a tower of mini doughnuts.

Party tricks: Lady Mary Charteris was on the decks from 9pm.

Small talk: “What, this old thing? I’m channelling the New Look.”

USP: You can catch a peek of the V&A after dark.

Old Vic Midsummer Party

Tess Daly
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Who’s who?

A fleet of box-fresh Audis will be dispatched on Sunday to collect the capital’s best thesps — including Kristin Scott Thomas, Adrian Lester, Riz Ahmed, Kim Cattrall, Mark Gatiss, Anna Maxwell Martin and Romola Garai.

Judi Dench is on the organising committee (“She knows how to throw a good party,” confirms a source).

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The menu: Taittinger is doing the bubbles, Absolut is serving vodka cocktails and Fortnum’s is supplying wine (a Bourgogne and a dry Riesling). Food is provided by The Brewery: to start, it’s heritage tomatoes, candied beets and radishes, followed by pan-fried sea bream and caramelised celeriac. There’ll also be the obligatory macaroons — the upmarket cupcake.

Party tricks: Dench knows her audience — nothing short of dramatic will do: the team behind The Greatest Showman has been commissioned to write an opening number to kick off the evening.

Small talk: “I much preferred The Greatest Showman to A Star is Born anyway.”

USP: Probably the most fun of all of them — luvvies don’t take themselves as seriously as the art and fashion crowd do (really).

Royal Ascot

AP

Who’s who?

Ascot, which started on Tuesday, notches up more than 300,000 attendees across five days (not to mention 400 helicopters and 1,000 limos to drop them off).

Ascot’s guests usually include a smattering of heirs (of varying proximity to the throne). Guests so far this year have included the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Zara and Mike Tindall.

The menu: Ascot’s culinary headliners have eight Michelin stars between them. Simon Rogan leads the way with four — he’ll be hosting inside the Royal Enclosure Gardens. Attendees drink more than 56,000 bottles of champagne consumed over five days (this year, it’s Moët) and 21,000 jugs of Pimm’s.

Party tricks: Besides the horses (approximately 500), there’s plenty to entertain — including DJs in the enclosures (YouTuber Pips Taylor is on from today), art and sculpture, and horticulture, More than 13,000 flowers and plants are grown and planted for Royal Ascot, explains an insider (bonus: three miles of bunting is also strung up across the site).

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Small talk: Sidle up to a geezer and ask him who he’s betting on — Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting, with up to £7.3 million in prize money.

USP: A chance to land said prize money. Also, an outside chance of spotting Princess Charlotte (the pint-sized princess with an outsized attitude is a keen horse rider).

The Serpentine

Alexa Chung
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Who’s who?

The guest list for the summer party next Tuesday is under wraps, but it’ll be reliably starry. Last year’s guestlist included the usual stalwarts (Alexa Chung, Poppy Delevingne), plus models Adwoa Aboah, Lara Stone and Edie Campbell. The bash is hosted by Michael Bloomberg in association with Chanel.

The menu: Cellar Society is on the catering (clients include Balenciaga, Christopher Kane and Alexander McQueen). There’ll be Casamigos Margaritas, Whispering Angel rosé (the nectar of the Gods), steamed buns by BAO and mochi by Little Moons.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
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Entertainment: Besides a DJ set by Grammy award winning producer Mura Masa, it’s all about this year’s pavilion, created by Junya Ishigami. He has crafted a stone roof out of slate, suspended on a “forest” of 106 columns. “I want to evoke people’s imagination,” Ishigami explains, “like when you look at the clouds, you might see some shapes of animals or something.” Right.

What to say: “Did you know it took 61 tonnes of Cumbrian slate to make this? Best hope it doesn’t collapse!”

USP: Whispering Angel! Also, good frocks. The party.

House Festival

Lana Del Rey
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Who’s who? A mini-Glastonbury for those disinclined to loaf beyond the M25, House Festival, on July 4, is more than the UK’s most expensive music festival (tickets are £250 for the day). A mash-up from the Soho House Group and English Heritage, it’s swept the elite off their feet since 2007.

Once you’re in, you’ll be rubbing shoulders with the Soho House set (Nick Jones et al), and the beach-bronzed cast of Love Island (hi Eyal!). Backdrop does not get more idyllic than the grounds of Highgate’s Kenwood House, where you’ll laze away to Black Eyed Peas, Groove Armada and Brit-nominee Mahalia.

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The menu: Food is free. Last year, guests chugged 4,500 lobsters, quaffed pints of craft lagers from Camden Town Brewery and mainlined oysters like they’re going out of fashion. Dirty Burger baps and Grey Goose cocktails go down a treat in the heat.

Party tricks: The fact that this festival doesn’t involve sleeping in a tent and a week’s worth of wet wipe washes means crisply-pressed white linen is practically compulsory. See also, heels. Block-heel sandals, high cowboy boots, and the espadrille wedge are unlikely usual suspects.

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Small talk: The party crowd tend to head to 40 Greek Street afterwards, so join the fun. This is your chance to join the in-crowd. Don’t mention rain, you’ll just encourage it.

The USP: Excellent music and posh nosh a half hour from any self-respecting VIP’s townhouse.

Wimbledon

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle
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Who’s who?

Okay, there’s already the prospect of a return of Sir Andy Murray to Centre Court after injury, but Royal Box Watching also presents a smorgasbord of celebrities in their finest jacket and tie. Dress code (smart) is militant: Lewis Hamilton once missed the final for wearing a bright floral shirt and a straw hat.

Emma Watson
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Theresa May and her husband Philip sat alongside William and the Duchess of Cambridge, who brought sunshine to Centre Court in a yellow dress by Dolce & Gabbana. VIPs without a royal connection, fear not: some brands usually take their favourite celebs.

Last year, Ralph Lauren treated Emma Watson, Lara Stone and Alexa Chung to the men’s singles final, while Tom Holland brought his dad.

Andy Murray
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The menu: Pimm’s, poached salmon, prawn vol-au-vents and the obligatory strawberries and cream are the mainstay in the VIP boxes.

Party tricks: Brush up on doubles — that’s likely to be the only format Murray would be playing in this year.

Small talk: “What do we call Murray Mound now?”

The USP: fun in the sun. Apply sunscreen.

Additional reporting, Samuel Fishwick

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Party 2019 - In pictures

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