London, Oct 14: Designers, sports heroes, academics and scientists -- 400 British trailblazers gathered yesterday at a Buckingham Palace reception given by Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate their achievements. The Queen mingled and chatted with her guests, who ranged from Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes, and Everest mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington, to renowned heart surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub and pink-haired designer Zandra Rhodes, a fashion icon since the 1970s.
The special reception was held to pay tribute to the contribution of more than 400 pioneers in British life. In honour of the guests, the palace arranged an exhibition of objects relating to pioneering achievements, including stones thrown through the windows of Buckingham Palace in 1914 by suffragettes demanding votes for women. The small rocks, each about three inches long, were kept for posterity by Queen Mary.
Each bears a slogan written in ink on gummed paper, protesting the refusal of King George V to receive a deputation of women and a petition demanding the vote. The women who threw them were arrested but later released without charge. Bureau Report