It was a royal appointment for Spiritualism this May, as SNU Minister Kathryn Grundy attended an exclusive, invitation-only Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
The event was a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, held on 20th May 2025.I received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant’s office in Lancaster, Lancashire, telling me that the Lord Chamberlain had requested a list of people she would recommend to receive an invitation to a Royal Garden Party, and my name had been put forward. So I was asked if I would like to attend, and then a few months later I received the invitation.
This was accompanied by a dress code and general information about the day.
It was a wonderful day, and I was pleased to be able to attend with my husband, Tom, who is himself CSNU and a Silver Long Service award holder. It was hot and sunny, and we walked across the rear garden in front of the terrace that the King greeted the troops on after his coronation. There were two marquees with bands playing at either ends of the garden and a huge marquee serving small plates of afternoon tea and refreshments.
Minister Kathryn Grundy and her husband Tom, proudly representing Spiritualism in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The bands started playing the National Anthem, and then the Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice and her husband walked down the long walk to the diplomatic tent. The crowds were lining the walk and the Royals walked down either side of the people, talking to a few on the way.
Every one was very friendly and we spoke to people representing new industries. There were a lot of clergy there, and we were pleased to see a number of different religions being represented. There were a lot of service personnel there as well.
“I was lucky enough to be spoken to by the Duchess of Wales… I explained about my regalia, being a Minister of the Spiritualists’ National Union, about my healers badge and the significance of my Silver Long Service Award.”
I was lucky enough to be spoken to by the Princess of Wales as they made their way back to the Palace. I explained about my regalia, being a Minister of the Spiritualists’ National Union, about my healers badge and the significance of my Silver Long Service Award.
My son had nominated me for the work I had done for Spiritual Healing within the SNU. I was the first female to be appointed Chair of the Healing Committee, and it was during my time in that role that the national training of healers was formulated. We worked with UK Healers and The Prince’s Trust to regulate the appointment, training, upgrading, discipline and regulation of healers. My committee took the basic programme we had devised for all healers working within the UK, and adapted it to include our Religion and how healing practice would work within the SNU.
Some of the royal guests in attendance at the Buckingham Palace garden party. Minister Grundy even managed to have a conversation with the Princess of Wales about Spiritualism and her role in the SNU.
Although the programme has been updated, it is essentially still the same programme. While I was Chair of the Healing Committee and later Chair of the Accreditation Committee I also served on the NEC. I took our training programme abroad, teaching SNU Healing in various EU countries, and I lectured about Spiritual Healing to the Royal College of Doctors.
The Application for my award was supported by Minister David Bruton and Minister Jackie Wright, President of the Spiritualists’ National Union. I am still healing at my local church, Fleetwood 1st National Spiritualist Church, and have been a healer for 38 years.
“It was a real honour to be invited to the Palace, so that I could visibly promote Spiritualism… every opportunity is a blessing not to be missed.”
It was a real honour to be invited to the Palace, so that I could visibly promote Spiritualism to all those who asked about my regalia. My husband also has a Silver Long Service Award and is a healer, so we were able to promote Spiritualism to a wide circle of people.
We hope that we interested more people in our religion, and enjoyed being able to talk to others representing their religions too.
It is so important that we get our message out there to the general public, as those we spoke to were unaware that Spiritualism is actually a religion.
Every opportunity is a blessing not to be missed.
~ Minister Kathryn Grundy
We are certain you will join us in thanking and congratulating Minister Grundy on her achievement, and for helping to bring awareness of Spiritualism to such a prestigious event!