King Charles Leaves Subtle Goodbye To The Queen In Her Funeral Flowers
Lifestyle - News
By MELANIE CARDEN
On Sept. 19, England laid Queen Elizabeth II to rest, after her passing on Sept. 8. As expected for a monarch, the queen's funeral was full of countless symbolic, traditional gestures and motifs to honor her in subtle ways, and King Charles' choice of flowers for the ceremony represent who his mother was as a person and ruler.
The wreath atop the queen's coffin is composed of blooms from her own gardens; Charles reportedly selected the pink roses, in addition to lavender and rosemary from the gardens of Windsor Castle. Country Living correspondent Fergal Keane explains that "There's rosemary; that's for remembrance; pray you, love, remember."
Leading Britain's Conversation reports that the wreath also includes pine from Balmoral Castle, where Her Majesty spent her final days. The funeral flowers also included white button chrysanthemums, phlox, sweet peas, dahlias, white spray roses, white heather, pine fir, white freesias, foliage, rosemary, hebe, spray eryngium, and pittosporum.
Sweet peas were selected by Elizabeth for Prince Philip's funeral; the plant is symbolic of farewells, and in this case, signifies remembrance for the queen's husband as well as herself. Lavender is also fitting, since this flower represents calmness, devotion, and grace — very qualities for which the queen was known.