The flowers from Saturday’s Royal Wedding may be gone, but the blooms at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show certainly drew Her Majesty The Queen’s attention. Her Majesty was joined at the Flower Show by various members of The Royal Family including The Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne.
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Upon her arrival to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where the Show is being held, Her Majesty was greeted by President of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sir Nicholas Bacon. The Queen was seen beaming as she was shown this year’s displays.
Earlier on in the afternoon, The Duke of York and Princess Beatrice attended the event as did The Countess of Wessex. Her Majesty The Queen was joined at the event by Princess Anne, Princess Alexandra, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
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The first Chelsea Flower Show opened on 20th May 1913 and although the First World War dominated the next four years, the show still went ahead from 1914-1916 though was cancelled in 1917 and 1918. The 1920’s saw the Chelsea Flower Show back in full swing with the famous Chelsea tea parties established and Royal visits resumed.
In 1937, the Coronation year of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the show staged a superb Empire Exhibition featuring wattles from Australia, pine from Canada and gladioli from East Africa.
In the present day, The Queen was shown around a number of the displays set up this year including The RHS Feel Good Garden which is celebrating 70 years of the National Health Service and the Welcome to Yorkshire Garden inspired by the Yorkshire Dales.
Her Majesty was also treated to the Wuhan Water Garden which showcases the natural landscape of Hubei Province and the Morgan Stanley Garden for the NSPCC.
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The show, which is organised by the Royal Horticultural Society – of which The Queen is Patron – has grown from 244 exhibitors in 1913 to over 500 in 2018 and attracts over 168,000 visitors.