England: It has brought us Shakespeare, red double-decker buses and the Beatles, but perhaps its most delightful contribution has been the ritual of taking a few dainty afternoon delights with a pot of tea.
Anna, the Duchess of Bedford and a friend of Queen Victoria, is often credited with having invented afternoon tea. In the early 19th century, dinner was not served until about 8.30pm and the Duchess reportedly suffered from a "sinking feeling" during the late afternoon, so she asked for a pot of tea and a few cakes or sandwiches to be brought to her boudoir for a private snack.
Satisfied with her solution, she invited friends to join her and, as social hostesses picked up on the idea, afternoon tea became fashionable among the upper classes.
So when I visited London I had only one requirement for my afternoon tea experience - I had to have it in a castle or a palace so I could imagine myself as a lady of leisure, swanning around in fabulous bouffant skirts, strolling in the gardens and being waited on hand and foot - and I found just the place at Kensington Palace.
The palace, set in Kensington Gardens in the centre of London, is where Queen Victoria lived from her birth in 1819 until the morning of June 20, 1837, when her advisers woke her to tell her that the king, her uncle William IV, had died and she was now queen.
The palace is also famous for being the London home of Princess Diana from 1981 to 1997, and upon her death the black and gold gates were flooded by a mass of flowers from a nation in mourning. Today the palace is still a royal residence, housing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - William and Kate.
Afternoon tea at Kensington Palace is served in the Orangery, a short walk from the palace. From the 17th to 19th centuries, wealthy families built greenhouses for orange trees with huge south-facing windows to maximise the afternoon sun and thick brick walls to the north to protect the potted trees from England's harsh winters.
In 1704-05, during the reign of Queen Anne, the Kensington Palace orangery was built for entertaining in the summer months. She had it beautified with panelling, white Corinthian columns and woodcarvings, and today it is an airy cafe with with orange trees set among classical statues and miniatures on tables.
On entering, you pass a table piled high with an array of mouth-watering cakes, scones and slices as well as a mountain of billowy raspberry meringues, but I was not to be tempted because I knew exactly what I wanted.
My afternoon tea arrived on an elegant three-tiered cake stand with tiny salmon and cucumber sandwiches on the bottom, then a scone taking up the middle tier with a chocolate eclair and orange and passionfruit tart poised daintily on top. I started at the bottom, making my way up while sipping flavourful, loose-leaf Darjeeling tea - chosen from an extensive list.
While all the offerings were good, the fluffy scone stood out with its clotted cream and strawberry jam. Little did I know that, as I slathered my scone with jam and topped it with a dollop of cream, I was taking sides in a centuries-old debate over how to eat a scone. In Devon, where Devonshire tea gets its name, scones are an artform and the clotted cream goes on first, followed by the strawberry jam. But in nearby Cornwall, scone-eaters put the jam on first. The British are so passionate about their scones that a Devon farmer has started a campaign to protect the term "Devon cream tea" in a bid to stop cafe owners serving scones with canned whipped cream instead of the real deal. The Cornish disagree, saying they have greater claim to the foodie ritual as they have protected status for the most vital ingredient: Cornish clotted cream.
So if you want to add your 2c worth, head to a tearoom in the southwest of England and discuss it with the purists. As for me, I was more than happy sipping tea at Kensington Palace, gazing out at the beautiful gardens and keeping an eye out for William and Kate.
Royal duo
Signature orange tea:
Sandwiches, scones, pastries and tea - £15 ($31) a person.
Royal Champagne tea:
Sandwiches, scones, pastries, tea and Champagne - £21 per person.
The Orangery is in the grounds of Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, London. Open for afternoon tea from noon until 5pm (October to February) or 6pm (March to September). Bookings are not required.