There is one flower which has appeared in almost every royal wedding bouquet since the time of Queen Victoria, no matter the season of the wedding, and that’s Myrtle. No matter how unconventional the bride, each bouquet should have at least a sprig of Myrtle to represent love.
Town & Country said that like Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton before her, Princess Eugenie will include a sprig of Myrtle along with other flowers in her bouquet which will be crafted by celebrity florist Rob Van Helden.
For her May wedding, Markle actually had a very traditional bouquet that included Princess Diana’s favorite flower, forget-me-nots as well as “sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine, astrantia, and as is custom, it included a sprig of myrtle.”
A tweet from the Kensington Palace account explained that the tradition started with the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter.
“Many Royal Brides across the generations have chosen to carry a sprig of Myrtle, which represents love, in their bouquets. This tradition dates back to the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s eldest daughter.”
Princess Eugenie might be embracing the sprig of Myrtle idea because her mother, Sarah Ferguson included the flower when she married Prince Andrew.
Many Royal Brides across the generations have chosen to carry a sprig of Myrtle, which represents love, in their bouquets.
This tradition dates back to the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s eldest daughter. Find out more ? https://t.co/s88dWSfqvC pic.twitter.com/kKWjay4S0c
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 11, 2018
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew married in the summertime (July of 1986), so her bouquet included gardenias, lilies, lily of the valley and of course, a sprig of Myrtle.
But there will be no throwing of the bridal bouquet as the tradition for royal brides is to send her flowers back to Westminster Abbey, no matter where the wedding. This tradition was started by Queen Elizabeth’s mother, the Queen Mother, in honor of her brother Fergus who was killed in World War I.
Elle says that Kate Middleton included the traditional sprig of Myrtle, but she did her own twist on the bouquet with hyacinth for fragrance, and also a bunch of a very special flower for the occasion, Sweet William.
Brides says that the florist, Rob Van Helden, will do his own twist on a traditional royal wedding bouquet. While Van Helden’s expertise is not necessarily with royal weddings, he does have quite the portfolio of doing the flowers for the rich and famous, including Elton John and Pierce Brosnan.
No additional information has been shared about Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s floral scheme, but most royal brides have embraced the tradition of a green and white floral color scheme.
