The King and Queen visit RHS Chelsea 2024
King Charles III and Queen Camilla toured RHS Chelsea Feature Garden designed by children with an emphasis on wildlife and play
At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, Their Majesties The King and Queen met with children from Sulivan Primary School in South West London who created the children’s RHS Chelsea Show garden with designer Harry Holding. They toured the mini woodland, meadow and wetland, enjoying the children’s choices of oversized tropical and carnivorous plants. Some of the schoolchildren watched the visit from the top of a treehouse, set over a pool of water. The King waved up at them and joked that they should be careful not to fall in the water.
The RHS No Adults Allowed Garden
A standout feature of the show was the RHS No Adults Allowed Garden, designed entirely by children for children. To gain entry, grown ups needed to make a special pledge. The garden aimed to encourage a new generation of gardeners by showing how plants and outdoor spaces help the planet and – most of all – are fun. The Royal couple were delighted to be given the honorary titles of King of
Promoting Young Gardeners
After the show, the garden will be relocated to the Sulivan School, to be enjoyed by children in the local area. The school is part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, which provides teachers with free resources, training and support to encourage more young people to be engaged with gardening. It is hoped that their experience of the show will bolster the children’s love of gardening and nature, particularly as many of the pupils do not have easy access to a garden or green space at home.
Royal visit to other gardens
In addition to the children's garden, The King and Queen, along with The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, visited several other gardens at RHS Chelsea including The RHS Britain in Bloom 60th Anniversary Friendship garden, which celebrated 60 years of community gardening. At the St James’s Piccadilly: Imagine the World to be Different garden, based on the churchyard at St James’s, King Charles III told Rector Lucy Winkett that he loved the garden and knew the church.
Tom Massey and Je Ahn’s WaterAid Garden, designed with sustainable water use in mind, also received a royal visit. The designers explained their design concept to the King and Queen who are passionate supporters of environmental causes. Additionally, designer Giulio Giorgi of The World Child Cancer Garden, who won the Environmental Innovation Award, spoke with the King about integrating permaculture principles into the garden.