The gloriously decadent Belle Epoch-style hotel opened on the edge of Green Park in 1906 and was popular with Edward VII and later the queen mother, whose favorite song to be performed there on the piano was "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." The Ritz has since become a favorite of Prince Charles, and he has awarded the hotel with a Royal Warrant for banqueting and catering services. Most importantly, The Ritz is where he first went public with Camilla Parker Bowles in 1999. Although their relationship had been known about for years, it was at a birthday party for Camilla's sister that the couple decided to be photographed together for the first time and was the first step to making their marriage a possibility. Three years later, the queen hosted a birthday party for Charles at the hotel, and her majesty also had her own 60th and 80th birthday parties there, where guests were served salmon fishcakes and Windsor Fizz cocktails made from elderflower, Champagne, and raspberry liqueur.
