Our Campaign has caught the attention of a number of valuable supporters and the guest list included Sarah, The Duchess of York, William and Ffion Hague, Cherie Booth QC, and Foundation patrons Ainsley Harriott, Gloria Hunniford and Mike Read.

After the guests had been led through the Palace into the Great Hall, Cliff opened the evening with Grace and everyone sat to enjoy a splendid meal, created by world reknown chef Anton Mosimann. Anton is another 'Kids on Court 'Patron and his London restaurant, Mosimann's, was the venue for the launch of the Campaign in the year 2000. The Christmas dinner was accompanied by traditional music from the Holbein Quintet, followed by Mike Read and the vocal talents of Russia, who led everyone in the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The song has become something of a tradition at our events and is always guaranteed to get the Christmas spirit flowing.

We wanted our guests to be entertained and the excitement continued with a startling performance from the Court jester who stumbled between the tables perched on stilts!

After the meal and the Loyal Toast, the attention turned to the business of the evening and Sue Barker, President of the 'Kids on Court' Campaign took to the stage to talk to Sir Cliff about the aims of the Foundation and our work introducing children to tennis. The Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation is a registered charity and we're totally totally dependant on the generosity of sponsors and supporters. Why not listen to the complete interview with Sue Barker and Sir Cliff Richard while you are browsing our site? Click on your prefered format: The event is an excellent way for us to publicise our activities and importantly it raises considerable funds for our 'Kids on Court' Campaign.Tickets for the evening are typically booked by large companies and celebrities, who support our work and make generous donations to our cause. We held a special Christmas Draw, with prizes presented by Sue Mappin, Ainsley Harriott and Gloria Hunniford.

This was followed by an auction led by Duncan McEuen, Director of Christie's, where guests had the opportunity to bid for a selection of lots kindly donated by supporters and sponsors. The exclusive lots ranged from tickets to the finals of the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, kindly donated by the Lawn Tennis Association - to a bottle of 'Vida Nova', one of the first bottles of wine from Sir Cliff's Algarve vineyard, personally labelled and signed by Cliff.

Bang and Olufsen of Kingston donated a CD sound system and Granada Television offered an exclusive behind the scenes day out on the set of Coronation Street.The auction even featured a pair of leather seats from the newly refurbished Concorde kindly donated by British Airways, the seats were snapped up by a generous bidder who bought some very unique armchairs and donated £1000 to our campaign!

It was then time to return to the music and after the auction the guests were treated to some fine entertainment, starting with a performance from the Chapel Choir, Hampton Court Palace. Sir Cliff then joined them on stage for renditions of some of his Christmas hits, before leading everyone into the carols.

It didn't take long for the guests to join in and as the Great Hall filled with voices the performance was joined by Staines Salvation Army Band. Finally the Marching Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth, led the ceremony of Beating Retreat and it was time to say goodnight.

Cliff thanked all for attending and wished everyone a very Merry Christmas, but the final word went to Sarah, The Duchess of York who took to the stage to thank Cliff and the Foundation for a truly wonderful evening, and for our continued work to improve the health of the nation's children. Just before the event we received a wonderful letter of support from Sarah, The Duchess of York that you can read in our Latest News section.

Once again our Christmas Celebration at Hampton Court Palace was a huge success and our thanks go to all the sponsors who provided the wonderful lots for the auction and the generosity of the guests. Overall the evening raised in excess of £45,000 for the 'Kids on Court' Campaign, money that will be used to make a real difference to children's lives.

For the full story on Hampton Court you can also download a copy of the programme for the event. The 32 page booklet includes personal messages from Cliff and Sarah, the Duchess of York , a update on our Campaign and an interesting tour of the Palace. Click on the image to download a PDF of the programme. (Requires Adobe Acrobat reader).