Design icons arrive at palace

Buckingham Palace was today transformed into a British design showcase.

The "drooping" Concorde nose cone, a red Routemaster bus, a black cab and the Mini Minor drove through the palace gates to form part of an "Avenue of Design".

The Queen was meeting top British designers for a champagne reception followed by a walk down the route, which was lined by iconic designs including a red telephone box and marked out by cats' eyes.

A Palace spokesman said: "They're going to form an avenue in the Quadrangle which the guests will walk up. We thought it would be good to use the Quadrangle space, which itself is so well known internationally.

"Nothing like this has been done before. It's a unique event.

"It was quite a sight when a doubledecker bus drove through the gates of the palace.

"The height of the arch into the Quadrangle was measured to make sure it went through."

More than 400 guests were due to

meet the Queen and Prince Philip and walk down the Avenue of Design.

Among them were shoe creator Patrick Cox and London Eye designers Julia Barfield and David Marks.

Also expected were Arts Council chairman Sir Christopher Frayling, V& A logo designer Alan Fletcher, motorway signs designer Margaret Calvert, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and Trevor Jones, the quadriplegic adventurer who adapted a trimaran for wheelchair users and started a charity to fund a boat for wheelchair users.

The Evening Standard is campaigning to save the iconic Routemaster, which is set to be phased out by the end of next year so that all London buses are accessible to wheelchair users.

Many have argued that the Routemaster is as essential a part of London as the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey ... or even Buckingham Palace.