The Queen has been treated to a first look at this year’s British Flowers Week exhibition at the Garden Museum in London. The week-long event champions British-grown flowers, talent in floral design, and sustainable floristry across the country.
The event was founded by New Covent Garden Market which is the UK’s premier flower supplier. Greeted by Museum Director Christopher Woodward, Her Majesty was given a tour of five different floral installations designed by Mahal Kita Flowers, Yinari, SAGE, Botanical Tales, and Lucy Vail Floristry. The designers created flower sculptural installations using sustainably-sourced, seasonal, British-grown flowers. In addition to their sustainable sourcing, the flowers are arranged with environmentally friendly methods and materials.
These installations are specifically designed for the historic space and to interact with the Garden Museum’s Grade II listed building as some of the building’s parts date back to the 14th century. The theme for this year’s exhibition at the Garden Museum is New Beginnings. It is inspired by fresh starts, changing seasons, optimism moving forward for the floral industry, and budding new growth.
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During her outing, Her Majesty met with royal florist Shane Connolly who designed the displays inside Westminster Abbey for The Coronation. The Queen joked that there was not much time to look at them but did say they were beautiful. She also gave praise to the floral decorations placed around the grave of the Unknown Warrior.
In a speech highlighting Their Majesties’ support of British-grown flowers, Connolly said: “As gardeners you also appreciate the vagaries of using them, the exciting unpredictability, and the happy surprises that result. On May 6 you trusted them, and me, for your Coronation. No single flower type could be guaranteed or predicted, in fact nature was in charge of design.’”
Connolly presented The Queen with a hand-tied bouquet of flowers picked from his own garden. In return, she gave him a beautifully wrapped box that contained a picture of herself and her husband, King Charles III. Connolly was also the florist during The King and Queen’s wedding in 2005. On a more sombre note, he also created the displays at the funeral of both The Queen’s father and brother.
Queen Camilla also met members of Floral Angels, a charity that arranges donated flowers for use in hospices, women’s refuges, and care homes over London. The organisation distributed flowers from the Coronation after the ceremony on May 6th 2023.
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Eight school children from La Retraite RC School in Balham, South London also got a royal surprise as they took part in a cooking lesson in the Learning Studio Kitchen and learned to make marigold risotto with fresh flowers. Her Majesty watched on, asking the children how they enjoy cooking and saying she was envious she couldn’t join in.