Mr Peter Phillips, the queen’s eldest grandchild and son of Princess Anne, is organising the Patron’s Lunch, which he said would have a “carnival atmosphere”.
The more than 600 charities and organisations of which the queen is patron will be able to buy 9,000 of the tickets and sell on up to 40 per cent of them in fundraising events — with the rest to be distributed among staff.
Though 13th in line to the throne, Phillips, like his sister, the former eventing world champion Zara Tindall, has no royal title and does not undertake royal duties.
The 38-year-old runs the British arm of the Australian global events agency Sports and Entertainment Limited. He pitched the idea to Buckingham Palace.
“We had to show that this wasn’t a case of trying to cut corners because the queen happens to be my grandmother,” he said.
Mr Phillips defended the cost of the tickets, saying it was a not-for-profit event and any surplus would go to the charities.
“It’s not exactly a cheap exercise. Fortunately our corporate partners have provided the funding for the majority of the costs,” he said.
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