British Royal Flower Traditions Explained

It's safe to say that there is a lot of pomp and circumstance involved in being a British royal. Some members of the family may escape some of the more ceremonial duties, but the monarch and their immediate family are certainly expected to take part in quite a few occasions. And whether it's a memorial, a wedding, a coronation, or anything in between, there are sure to be plenty of flowers.

Now, at first, flowers might seem like little more than a frivolous bit of set dressing, some pretty decoration to really amp up the occasion. Yet, as with so many of the traditions practiced in British royal circles, it goes quite a bit deeper than appearances. Even apparently innocuous things like the type of flowers, their arrangements, their color, their scent, and more can send a pretty strong message.

Much of the symbolism and import of floral arrangements here is tied up in floriography, or the "language of flowers." The idea of communicating a message via blooms has been around in one form or another for centuries. Yet, in Britain and especially when it comes to the country's royals, their history with floral symbolism is a bit more recent. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, floriography really started flourishing there under the reign of Queen Victoria, who happens to be personally linked to quite a few flower traditions practiced by her descendants today.

Royal brides both historic and modern have typically carried a sprig of myrtle in their bouquets. In particular, that bunch of myrtle is supposed to come from Osborne, reports English Heritage. That's the vacation home of Queen Victoria, situated on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. Records show that Victoria started the tradition at the 1858 marriage of her daughter, also named Victoria. The event was apparently pretty significant for the elder Victoria, who later wrote in her diary that "I felt almost as if it were I that was being married over again."

Indeed, Victoria keeps talking about myrtle in her diaries, noting that its flowers were part of Princess Beatrice's 1885 wedding and the 1874 pre-nuptial bouquet sent to the Russian Grand Duchess Marie, who was set to marry her son, Alfred. It all apparently stems from a small bouquet containing the flowers, which was given to Victoria by Prince Albert's grandmother during a royal trip to Germany.

But why myrtle? It clearly had a personal significance for Victoria and her immediate family, but myrtle had already gained a centuries-old reputation for representing romance, innocence, and fertility — pretty spot on symbolism for a wedding. It was especially popular in 19th century Germany and, considering that Victoria and quite a few of her descendants are descended from the German Hanovers (via The Royal Family), it makes cultural sense, too.

The majority of royal brides in modern memory have carried all-white wedding bouquets, in keeping with the white wedding theme. There's also a practical purpose, since the flowers in question should be pretty eye-catching — this is a large public ceremony, after all — but not so attention-getting that people forget about the wedding dress. As florist Jane Packer said, "Protocol dictates that for an occasion such as this, the bouquet will be all-white" (via The Telegraph). The flowers, which have included blooms as luxuriant as orchids and as homegrown as Queen Victoria's myrtle, are therefore generally all white with only the rare hint of color.

Many ceremonies have also featured flowers that have only been grown in Britain. That was certainly the case at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, as The Guardian reports. Quite a few observers were reportedly "delighted" to see the patriotic choice of flowers, all grown by British businesses or else selected from British gardens, like the ever-present myrtle sourced from Osborne.

Upon first glance, the thistle may not seem like an especially promising royal flower. The lush spectacle of orchids, of roses, of a trail of lily of the valley as it spills elegantly out of a bouquet seems more familiar. But the thistle comes off as rather defensive, with its prickles and spiky purple flower.

First used in a royal context when James III of Scotland issued coins bearing this flower in 1470, thistles have long been considered a symbol of Scotland, as Visit Scotland reports. James II of England also drew upon the rather strong, even fearsome symbolism of this thorny flower when he established the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle — more simply called the Order of the Thistle if you're into the whole brevity thing — in 1687.

Some members of the royal family are still part of the Order of the Thistle, which sports regalia that includes even more floral symbolism. Harper's Bazaar notes that, besides the luxuriant green velvet cape and feathered cap, members of the order also sport an enamelled chain featuring yet more thistles and rue. A Shakespeare Garden notes that, at least in British contexts, rue is often linked to regret for its bitter taste, as well as repentance and grief.

The particular whims and preferences of a sitting monarch are often enough to get quite a few traditions kick started, not least of which are some highly symbolic floral customs. Lily of the valley is reportedly a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II or, at least according to the Royal Family Twitter, it's held "special associations" ever since it was incorporated into her coronation bouquet.

The blooms have since featured in quite a few royal bouquets, per Express, including the wedding day blooms of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. According to Town & Country, it's said to represent good luck in love, while it's even the national flower of Finland. That said, it's also potentially poisonous if someone tries to eat the flowers. Possible side effects from ingesting lily of the valley can include stomach pain, fatigue, and dangerously low heart rates. Luckily, no royals have been seen trying to sneak a taste on their big day, which would be an odd occurrence indeed, anyway.

Flowers feature in plenty of life's rituals, from beginning to end. And British royals, like so many other people worldwide, often use flowers to represent their emotion and grief in funerals. Take the funeral of Prince Philip, the duke of Edinburgh and spouse of Queen Elizabeth II. According to Royal Central, amongst the abundant symbolism of his funeral ceremony, there were also flowers that carried some pretty important significance both for the occasion and for Philip's widow.

The wreath of flowers on top of Prince Philip's coffin, all chosen by Queen Elizabeth, were assembled with both personal meaning and wider tradition in mind. Per the Independent, they included rosemary for remembrance, lavender for devotion, acanthus to represent Philip's birthplace of Greece, and white roses for June, the prince's birth month. Royal Central also reports that the wreath contained jasmine to represent strength and sweet peas, traditionally a bittersweet symbol of farewell.

While royal weddings and other events can sometimes seem as if they're packed full of real flowers, the floral traditions of the British monarchy go even farther than the genuine article. A closer look at some of the details of what's often seen as the stylistic center of a wedding, the dress, shows that even these one-time gowns take part in British royal flower traditions.

Take Kate Middleton's dress. When the duchess of Cambridge was married to Prince William in 2011, it was in a long-sleeved lace gown that caught the eye of practically all the attendees and viewers of the ceremonies. Good Housekeeping reports that it contained significant flower designs, too, if you knew where to look. Middleton's dress included a rose for England, thistles for Scotland, daffodils to represent Wales, and shamrocks for Northern Ireland. The bloom designs were cut out individually and then painstakingly sewn by hand onto a silk tulle base.

Similarly, Meghan Markle's monumental 16-foot veil from her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry had enough room to display a flower from every country in the Commonwealth, according to Harper's Bazaar. There was still enough space for a few special additions, including a California poppy to represent Markle's birthplace, while ears of wheat near the front were placed as symbols of love and generosity.