A very special visitor

Her Majesty the Queen

RHS Lindley Library

HM The Queen at Chelsea

Credit: Gillian Barlow / RHS Lindley Collections

Credit: Gillian Barlow / RHS Lindley Collections

Her Majesty The Queen had a long and close association with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The Queen has been the royal patron of the Royal Horticultural Society since 1952 and has been a regular visitor to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for over 70 years.

When she was only ten years old, the RHS was delighted to hear that ‘the little Princess Elizabeth was starting to plant a little garden of her own at the Royal Lodge.’ To encourage this interest the RHS sent her tickets to Chelsea and Princess Elizabeth became a regular visitor to the show.

On these early visits to the show, the young princess was often accompanied by her mother, who was also a keen gardener.

Royal visits to Chelsea were truly a family affair. For many years the royal party was escorted around the showground by the Queen’s uncle, Sir David Bowes-Lyon, who became treasurer of the RHS in 1948 and its President in 1953.

Although Her Majesty was not able to attend in the year of her coronation, she has attended virtually every year since then, often accompanied by many other members of the royal family.

Over the course of her long reign, there have been many landmark dates and these have been celebrated with by special features at the show. For the coronation, a special display of plants from all over the Commonwealth was created.

The Royal Parks Department constructed a floral crown from carpet bedding for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.

In 2012, in addition to striking floral displays, a special artwork was commissioned by the RHS to mark the Diamond Jubilee. This was a royal signature – a special botanical artwork signed by Her Majesty. It joins a collection of royal signatures in the RHS Lindley Library, with autographs of the crowned heads of Europe spanning over 200 years.

Royal visits to the show occur on the Monday of Chelsea week, after judging has occurred, but before medals are announced. This meant that when the Queen toured the showground, she did not know which gardens and exhibitors had won medals.

The RHS President, Keith Weed, was delighted to welcome Her Majesty to the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, one of a select number of appearances she made in the summer of her Platinum Jubilee.

Created by RHS Lindley Library.

Based at the Royal Horticultural Society’s headquarters at Vincent Square in London, the Lindley Library holds a world-class collection of horticultural books, journals and botanical art.

Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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