King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds as they arrive at Chelsea Flower Show to visit child-designed garden

KING Charles and Queen Camilla were all smiles as they arrived at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Her Majesty, an avid gardener and patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, enjoyed the sunshine as she greeted growers and designers.

8

8

8

Queen Camilla, also a keen horticulturist, looked as pleased to be in west London as she did resplendent in a blue dress.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester accompany the King and Queen on this evening’s visit to the 111th Chelsea Flower Show.

During the visit, the Royals visited the No Adults Allowed Garden, the first in the history of the show to be designed by children.

The area, which features forests, meadows and wetlands, aims to inspire young people to take up ecological gardening while having fun.

The king then spoke to TV gardener supremo Alan Titchmarsh, who once described Charles as “the best royal gardener in history”.

The royals also visited the Moroto Japanese Garden in IE and the Addleshaw Goddard Junglette Tropical Garden.

Both the King and Queen have spoken about their love of gardening at Highgrove House, with Camilla seeing it as a form of therapy.

During a visit to a care home in Bath in February, Her Majesty said of her beloved pastime: “It gets everyone out.

“I think it’s the most relaxing thing in the world, you walk in and everything starts to get tense.

“It is worth it.”

She noted how tending the 18-year-old vegetable garden at the King’s private home in Gloucestershire is “a wonderful way to pass the time”.

The world-famous 15-acre garden at Highgrove has been extensively documented and attracts 40,000 visitors a year.

The king, and later Camilla, spent 35 years transforming it into one of the most inspiring gardens in Britain.

His Majesty once said that his green-fingered efforts were “a very small attempt to heal the terrible short-sighted damage done to the soil, the landscape and our own souls”.

In 2013, Charles, then Prince of Wales, launched the Coronation Meadows Project to create 60 meadows, in honor of the 60th year of the late Queen’s accession to the throne.

The project now has 100 camps across Britain.

I think it’s the most relaxing thing in the world, you enter and everything starts to stiffen

Queen Camilla discussing gardening earlier this year

Queen Elizabeth II was Patron of the RHS for 70 years and visited the Chelsea Flower Show almost every year of her reign.

Keith Weed CBE, Chairman of the RHS, said: “As a defender of the planet and a champion of environmental issues, we are excited and honored that His Majesty the King is our Royal Patron.

“We hope to continue our work to reach more people of all ages, backgrounds and gardening abilities with the joy of growing plants and gardening to create wonderful gardens, combat the effects of climate change and build a better future for generations to come.”

Clare Matterson CBE, Director General of the RHS, said: “It means so much to the RHS and our wider horticultural family of growers, nurseries, gardeners, designers and planters that Their Majesties the King and Queen, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are visiting RHS Chelsea again this year.

“We are all looking forward to welcoming you to this world-famous event to enjoy the spectacular displays that everyone has worked tirelessly to create…

“To meet the many wonderful charities involved in the event and, hopefully, as we gardeners love to do, share some top gardening tips and get lots of inspiration along the way.”

8

8

8

8