"In loving and devoted memory, Charles R." This handwritten card from King Charles III placed among the colourful flowers lying over rich green foliage gave personal touch to British Queen Elizabeth II's coffin during the late monarch's final journey on Monday. The gold, pink and deep burgundy colour flowers and plants, taken from the gardens of royal properties, were chosen for their symbolism, the BBC reported.
At King Charles III's request, the wreath for the Britain's longest-serving monarch's funeral contained flowers and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House in London - and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, it said.
The colourful flowers and plants were chosen for their symbolism - Rosemary for remembrance, Myrtle, the ancient symbol of a happy marriage, cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in The Queen's wedding bouquet in 1947, and English oak, a national symbol of strength, in a nod to the Queen's constancy and steadfast duty. It also symbolises the strength of love, it added.
The flowers in the Queen's funeral wreath featured scented pelargoniums, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias and scabious, all in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, to reflect the colours in the Royal Standard flag on which it sat, it said.
The wreath was made in a sustainable way - without the use of floral foam - instead in a nest of English moss and oak branches at the request of King Charles, who is well-known for his commitment to the environment, it added.
Unlike Monday's colourful wreath, more traditional white funeral wreaths sat atop the Queen's coffin on her final journey from Balmoral, via Edinburgh, to Westminster Hall in London. But all included personal flowers cut from royal gardens.
The Queen loved flowers from her garden - every Monday, the gardeners at Buckingham Palace would send up a fresh posy of flowers for her desk when she was in residence.
