Touching floral tribute to Elizabeth II at grandson’s wedding

Harriet Sperling carries her ‘bowl-of-cream’ bouquet featuring lily of the valley, a favourite of the late Queen - Victoria Jones/Shutterstock

Floral displays at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling paid tribute to Elizabeth II, according to their floral designer.

Millie Richardson, 40, revealed that lily of the valley, a favourite of the late Queen, was chosen by the couple to feature in Ms Sperling’s “bowl of cream” bouquet with white and cream sweet peas, astilbe and jasmine.

The delicate, white bell-shaped flowers came to prominence in the late Queen’s Coronation bouquet in 1953. She also carried a spray of the blooms at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 at Westminster Abbey, along with British-grown white orchids and myrtle.

Lily of the valley grows on the 39 acres of Buckingham Palace’s grounds. Its inclusion at her eldest grandson’s wedding in All Saints church, Kemble, symbolised the strong bond between the late Queen and Mr Phillips.

The bouquet was designed by Millie Richardson, whose work could be seen at last month’s Chelsea Flower Show - Max Mumby

Dainty pieces of myrtle were also featured, as has been traditional with royal brides since the 1850s.

Mrs Richardson, who designed the bouquets, said it was important to the couple to have lily of the valley, known as Convallaria majalis, as part of the church service.

She said: “Lily of the valley was definitely requested for its regal connotation. Myrtle is a symbol of beauty, grace and love and was requested on the same basis. It’s included in every royal wedding bouquet.

“The girls’ head pieces also have been exclusively created with the lily of the valley flower.”

The bridesmaids carried a similar handful of seasonal, delicate flowers, with small “Majolica” spray roses incorporated in their posies, with nigella in pale blue to co-ordinate with Mr Phillips’s buttonhole flower.

“They will be wearing nigella [love-in-a-mist] as it’s a seasonal-appropriate flower and Harriet loves blue. She loves the pale sky blue tone,” she added.

The colour was also woven throughout the wedding.

Mrs Richardson, who established her floral design studio a decade ago, said there had also been a nod to the King through the eco-friendly decision to bring in flowers from a plot 12 miles away from the location of the wedding, in the Slad Valley, owned by Saltbox & Co.

A large quantity of classic English flowers also came from Victoria and Barney Martin of Stokesay Flowers, who grow the blooms in their walled garden in Shropshire.

Mrs Richardson also included lily of the valley as part of the floral displays inside the church - Andrea Gilpin

The florist said the couple were “eco-conscious” and “very mindful of ... how we are protecting the planet”.

She added: “As they are sustainability-conscious, a lot of the flowers are British-grown and British-based.

“They are sustainably aware about where their flowers are coming from, which is an important focus from King Charles. There’s an awful lot of thought sourcing the materials for this wedding.

“The majority of foliage and flowers are coming from less than 12 miles away. What Harriet and Peter want to show is the rhythm of the season, ensuring the design is formed off the back of what is available.”

The colour palette of the flowers in the church blended white, off-whites and cream with faint hues of pale pink and seasonal Granny Smith apple-coloured greenery.

Trees, shrubs, grasses and English-grown flowers sourced as locally as possible formed part of the display.

The arrangements were designed to appear as though they had grown in position, as opposed to being formal or tightly arranged.

Mrs Richardson, 40, whom Ms Sperling, an NHS nurse, had been following for some time on Instagram, said: “It’s striking the balance between using seasonal materials and flowers to make arrangements feel like they belong, of the moment and designed with thought and precision to make it appropriately smart for an important regal occasion.”

Roses and honeysuckle

Rambling roses – including seasonal varieties of François Juranville, Adelaide d’Orleans, Banksia and Alister Stella Gray – were among the “hero” flowers providing the focus of arrangements, along with arching rose branches of Fantin Latour, Fritz Nobis and Rambling Rector. There were also several varieties of cut English garden roses.

Adelaide d’Orleans roses were among the ‘hero’ flowers providing the focus of arrangements

Digitalis purpurea, commonly known as foxglove, and Sutton’s apricot formed part of the displays, along with honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, jasmine (Polyanthum), orange blossom (Philadelphus), forget-me-not (Myosotis), corncockle (Agrostemma) and peony (Duchesse D Nemo, Gardenia and Bowl of Cream).

Mrs Richardson said that the displays and trees would be replanted so they could be enjoyed in the future.

“These flowers and trees are sourced locally and they will be planted so they live on after the wedding – it’s not a single entity,” she said.

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As well as the bridal party flowers, Mrs Richardson helped design boutonnières for Mr Phillips and other male guests, all of the church flower displays, and the wedding reception flowers at Gatcombe Park.

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