Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen a fashionable London-based florist to dress St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on their wedding day.
The couple has appointed society favourite Philippa Craddock, known for her work with brands such as Alexander McQueen, Dior and Vogue, to oversee the event.
‘Meghan has been hands-on with all elements of the wedding, but especially the flowers,’ said a Royal source. ‘She met the Queen and some of her staff at Windsor to discuss what could be done at the church and receptions. She seemed to have a pretty clear idea of what she wanted: lots of springtime whites and pastels and very romantic flowers.’
Harry and Meghan have appointed society favourite Philippa Craddock (pictured), known for her work with brands such as Alexander McQueen, Dior and Vogue, to oversee the event
Described by Tatler as ‘a floral mastermind’, Philippa claims to be able to create any bride’s dream from ‘a secret garden in a palace’ to ‘an outdoor botanical romance’.
The displays in St George’s Chapel will feature foliage from Windsor Great Park, including beech, birch and hornbeam branches, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.
Described by Tatler as ‘a floral mastermind’, Philippa claims to be able to create any bride’s dream from ‘a secret garden in a palace’ to ‘an outdoor botanical romance’
The self-taught florist has a studio in Fulham and a shop in department store Selfridges. Speaking about being chosen for the Royal Wedding on May 19, she said: ‘I am excited and honoured. The process has been highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun.’
Philippa’s wedding flower displays start at £5,000 but can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
However, Royal aides have been keen to play down reports that the couple plan to spend in the region of £110,000 on flowers alone. They insist that such figures are ‘wide of the mark’.
Peonies are Meghan Markle’s favourite flowers, so it comes as no surprise she has chosen to be surrounded by them on her wedding day.
After she started dating Prince Harry, she posted Instagram photos of a stunning bouquet of pink and white peonies, captioning it: ‘Swooning over these. #London #peonies #spoiledrotten’.
The self-taught florist has a studio in Fulham and a shop in department store Selfridges
In 2016, the American star wrote of a bouquet of the delicate fragrant blooms: ‘I bought these peonies for myself yesterday because they make me so endlessly happy.
‘Do something sweet for yourself today too. #treatyourself #simplepleasures #favoriteflowers.’
On her now deleted Instagram account, she also frequently posted images of light pink, peach, and orange roses.
And showed how she made mini arrangements of hydrangea in jars around her house.
On her now deleted Instagram account, Meghan frequently posted images of light pink, peach, and orange flowers
Such is Ms Markle’s love of flowers, the couple’s lemon and elderflower wedding cake – by Claire Ptak, owner of the east London Violet Cakes bakery – will also be decorated with fresh spring blooms.
Her mother Doria even has a floral nickname for her.
‘My mom has always called me Flower,’ Ms Markle revealed in 2014, adding that it was her nickname ‘since I was a little girl’.
Harry himself has been involved in two award-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show.
In 2015, designer Matt Keightley created a garden for Harry’s charity Sentebale and won a silver-gilt medal.
Peonies are Meghan Markle’s favourite flowers, so it comes as no surprise she has chosen to be surrounded by them on her wedding day. Pictured: A bouquet of peonies uploaded to Meghan’s Instagram
It was inspired by the vibrant atmosphere of a children’s residential camp set up by Sentebale in Lesotho, southern Africa, to help youngsters with HIV and Aids, and featured wooden walkways set among mature trees and abundant foliage.
In 2013, Harry’s Sentebale Forget-Me-Not garden at the show in London was created by landscape gardener Jinny Blom.
It was inspired by the prince’s experience of loss over the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales and featured a pattern based on hearts and crowns, cut into a floating stone in the middle of the garden.
Blom, who warded a silver gilt medal for the design, said of Harry at the time: ‘He’s very involved and, so far, has been very happy about everything I’m doing… He is very excited about it. He trusts me.
‘But, at the end of the day, he’s a soldier, not a gardener.’
When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed in Westminster Abbey in 2011, an avenue of eight potted trees, some as tall as 20ft, lined the aisle leading to the altar.
London-based Shane Connolly was the artistic director of flowers for the royal wedding.
The colour scheme was white, green and cream, and Kate decided upon euphorbia, a green shrub with yellow blossoms, white lilacs, magnolias, and lily of the valley.
Kate’s choices were inspired by the language of flowers, a communication method in the Victorian era when flowers were used to send coded messages to express unspoken emotions.