As Catherine will in due course become Princess of Wales, the daffodil was always bound to play a significant symbolic role in her style choices.
The lace on her wedding dress, hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace using the traditional Charrickmacross lace-making tecnique, details a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock, the floral emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively:
The main wedding cake, an eight-tiered creation by Fiona Cairns, featured those same four flowers rendered in sugar paste on the penultimate tier:
A daffodil also appeared in the bottom right-hand corner of the tins containing slices of the wedding cake that were given to guests:
On a visit to London department store Fortnum & Mason on St David's Day 2012 with the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, Catherine wore a daffodil corsage as a nod to the occasion:
The three royal ladies were presented with daffodil bouquets. It's worth mentioning that the Duchess of Cornwall was also sporting a Welsh-related brooch, in the form of a diamond badge representing a leek, another well-known symbol of Wales:
For the Duchess's first-ever video message, recorded in April 2013 in support of children's hospices network EACH, of which she is patron, a large bunch of daffodils had pride of place on the side table, alongside one of the official wedding photos and a photo of the Queen Mother in a silver frame:
Incidentally, a daffodil also appears in the logo of cancer charity Marie Curie.
Attending the first garden party of the year at Buckingham Palace on 23 May 2013, it was reported that the Duchess got chatting to Marie Curie nurse Susan Bradley, who said afterwards: "She recognised my uniform and told me she has great admiration for the work the charity does, because our staff cared for her grandfather when he was terminally ill".
Prince George, who will of course one day become Prince of Wales in his own right, had none other than a daffodil named in his honour at the 2014 edition of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The new variety, aptly named "Georgie Boy" in honour of the little Prince, was unveiled by Walkers Bulbs and has white overlapping petals surrounding a bright yellow corona:
This is a well researched and fascinating post. I remember the details on her dress and the cake, but I totally overlooked the others. I hope to see daffodils when I attend the Macy's flower show in March.
RispondiElimina