Daughters of the British Empire

Are you a British ex-pat? Of British heritage? An Anglophile? Married to a Brit? Did you spend quarantine looking up your family tree or did 23andMe and found out you have some Brit in you? Would you like to join a group of fun, charitable women? The Northern Virginia Pimm's and Poppies Chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire is the place for you. Please contact us at DBEinVA@gmail.com , if you would like to join.

Like the rest of the world, we have been having lots of Zoom meetings, but they have been awesome. Trivia, hat contests, British themed bingo, a virtual Burns Night, gin drinking, a book club, sandwich making for a shelter and more! We are dipping our toes back into meeting in person - outside and socially distanced, but if you are skittish about venturing out, we are still planning more Zoom events.

Pre-lockdown we toured the British Embassy, went to a fundraiser at the home of the Defense Attaché to the British Embassy, joined the British Officers Club of Washington, DC for dinners celebrating the Queen, went to a Titanic Tea and had fish and chips in DC. We have had a fascinator contest, a handbag contest, a hat contest, and a tea cup contest. Our first fundraiser was at the Little Theater of Alexandria's production of "A Christmas Carol" benefiting both a K-9 organization that provides service dogs to veterans and our own Victoria Homes and the following year were back for a spooky Halloween production of "Dracula", adding Alice's Kids as another charity to benefit. We hosted a tea/baby shower at the former Society Fair for Kate Middleton and William, with the gifts going to a local charitable organization for children and a Royal Wedding watch party at Murphy's, with the proceeds going to one of Meghan and Harry's charities. We had a Tea and Fashion Show emceed by Alexandria's own Monte Durham of "Say Yes to the Dress, Atlanta". Did you see us at the Scottish Walk? We are becoming regulars with our own Queen Victoria riding in the back of a convertible.

Membership in the DBE, is extended to women who are residing in the USA who are of British or British Commonwealth heritage by birth, naturalization or ancestry, and to women who are the wives or partners of persons of British or Commonwealth heritage by birth, naturalization, or ancestry. And British isn't just Britain, it is the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales), the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.