The significance of the floral arrangement on top of HM Queen Elizabeth II‘s coffin has been revealed, as well as the words written on the “loving” note placed in the centre.
The nation bid a final farewell to our longest-reigning monarch at a State Funeral today.
Around 2,000 guests attended the official service at Westminster Abbey, including world leaders representing nearly 200 countries and territories, 500 foreign dignitaries – such as politicians, civil servants, and some celebrities – and many ordinary members of the public selected for charitable or community works.
Tens of thousands of mourners also travelled to London and Windsor for the State Funeral and burial service, and many more were seen gathering at different hubs across the UK to watch the historic event in real-time.
Queen Elizabeth II’s children – including the newly-ascended King Charles III and Queen Consort – were in attendance, as were her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other extended family members.
ADVERTISEMENT
The service concluded with a two-minute silence observed by the nation.
Now, it has been revealed why the floral arrangement placed on top of the Queen’s coffin is so significant and sentimental to her and the Royal Family, as well as what the message written on the card placed within the flowers reads.
ADVERTISEMENT
HM Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral took place at Westminster Abbey today / Credit: The Royal Family
The millions of people watching the State Funeral broadcast live will have seen the colourful wreath of flowers siting on top of Her Majesty’s coffin, along with the Royal Standard flag, and the Queen’s crown, orb and sceptre.
The wreath was made completely sustainably, upon King Charles III’s request.
The Royal Family has revealed that, also upon the King’s request, the floral wreath includes myrtle flowers which have been grown from a sprig of the Queen’s wedding bouquet when she married Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh back in 1947.
ADVERTISEMENT
The wreath also features foliage of rosemary, which is an ancient symbol of remembrance, and English Oak, which is a national symbol of strength.
The nation came together to commemorate the life of our longest-reigning monarch / Credit: The Royal Family
Flowers cut from the gardens of the Balmoral estate – the Scottish castle where the Queen spent much of her time including her final days before her passing – also feature prominently in the arrangement, and these include the Queen’s favourite flower, the sweet pea, as well as dahlias, phlox, white heather, and pine fir.
Many of these floral tributes also hold a poignant tribute to the Queen’s relationship with her late husband.
Dahlia flowers symbolise a lasting bond and lifelong commitment between two people, while sweet peas are associated with departures and goodbyes, as well as being the birth flower of April – which was the Queen’s birth month.
ADVERTISEMENT
At The King's request, the wreath contains foliage of Rosemary, English Oak and Myrtle (cut from a plant grown from Myrtle in The Queen's wedding bouquet) and flowers, in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, cut from the gardens of Royal Residences. pic.twitter.com/5RteIWahuW
Typical of many floral arrangements at funeral services, many spectators also noticed that there was a card with a tribute message was placed in the centre of the wreath, and the message written on the note has now been revealed and shared by the BBC on the live television broadcast.
The message on the note card was from King Charles III, and was said to simply read – “In loving and devoted memory, Charles R.”
___
HM Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on 8 September 2022.
During her reign, she served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth – undertaking an important symbolic and unifying role as a head of state, spanning numerous geographical regions, cultures, and religions.
ADVERTISEMENT
She was not just the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she was also the first-ever monarch to reign in the UK for 70 years.
Admired for her duty and dedication to the role, today her remarkable life was remembered by all.
Featured Image – The Royal Family (via Twitter)
News
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.
It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.
In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.
Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.
The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.
Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.
More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.
The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.
Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.
This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.
This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.
It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.
AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.
Emily Sergeant -
19th September 2022 
