Kate Middleton was pretty in pink as she made a surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday. The Princess of Wales re-wore a sherbet ME+EM silk shirt dress as she joined pupils from schools taking part in the first Children’s Picnic at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – shortly before King Charles III and Queen Camilla are due to visit.
Ten schools from the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening were invited to bring pupils along to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, marking the first time in the event’s 110-year history that a Children’s Picnic has taken place. Her Royal Highness met the schoolchildren as they enjoyed a picnic at the site’s bandstand, before joining them on a visit to three of this year’s Show Gardens to take part in activities including a bug hunt, planning a home-grown meal and discovering how gardens can support wellbeing.
Bringing a splash of colour to a grey day, Kate Middleton opted for a vibrant dress she previously wore when meeting then five-year-old cancer patient Mila Sneddon, of Falkirk, at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, in May 2021. Mila had taken part in the princess’s Hold Still photography project over lockdown and asked the princess to wear pink when they met in person – Kate kept her promise.
The Princess of Wales becomes the first royal to visit the Chelsea Flower Show this year. Later, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent for a spectacular preview of the annual floral extravaganza.
In 2019, Kate memorably launched her Back To Nature gardens in partnership with the RHS and landscape architects Davies White which specifically aimed to highlight how time spent outdoors can enrich a child’s early development. The gardens were displayed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the Hampton Court Place Garden Festival, followed by the opening of a permanent Back to Nature play garden at RHS Garden Wisley. Early childhood development, and particularly how this can be enhanced through exploring and playing in the great outdoors, is a key feature of her royal work.
Other displays at the show will feature a life-size topiary display of the late Queen’s pony, Emma, who captured the heart of the nation at the funeral of the late monarch in 2022. The King and Queen will also visit the ‘London Square Community Garden’, a space intended for people to ‘meet, relax, share food and connect with nature’. They will also visit the ‘RHS and Eastern Eye Garden of Unity’ which will celebrate the ‘richness in the unity of cultures, traditions and backgrounds’. Another display is set to celebrate the Coronation with a rose exhibit inspired by the British flag, according to the Daily Mail.
The Chelsea Flower Show runs from Tuesday 23 May to Saturday 27 May, and will showcase over 500 exhibitors in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Established in 1913, today, the show attracts around 168,000 visitors to its gardens, nurseries, floristry, educational displays and trade stands. It is organised by the Royal Horticultural society, of which the late Queen Elizabeth II was the royal patron from 1952 until her death in September 2022.
Originally published in Tatler.com