Human Flower Project
Fit for the Duchess
Does Camilla Parker Bowles speak “The Language of Flowers”?
The wedding bouquet of Camilla Parker Bowles—now HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.
Photo: Toby Melville, for Reuters
Britain’s Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles married in a civil ceremony today. You knew that. But did you know what the new Duchess of Cornwall carried as her bridal flowers? Thanks to Toby Melville of Reuters for photographing the wedding bouquet, a dainty mix of lily of the valley and primroses. Melville snapped this close-up as the couple left a Prayer and Dedication service held in the company of the new in-laws at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The papers offer a full account of wedding fashion details, down to the “pale beige suede court shoes with almond-colored toes.” Several sources note that “flowers in the marriage room came from Charles’s Highgrove country estate in west England and Raymill House, Camilla’s home nearby.” How dreamy, to be able to supply one’s wedding flowers from his and her gardens, echoing what I once heard after the wedding of two wealthy commoners in the U.S.: “This isn’t just a marriage; it’s a merger.”
Perhaps Camilla and Charles took into account the “language of flowers,” an 18th- 19th century code whereby lovers once, supposedly, conveyed their wordy feelings wordlessly. In several wire reports, we’re told, “There was a lot of lily of the valley, symbol of the return of happiness.” These reporters might be interested to note that lily of the valley is also poisonous. Marina Heilmeyer’s wonderful book The Language of Flowers says that lilies of the valley, with both “deadly poison and healing powers” symbolized not happiness but “making the right choice.”
And primroses? They might have been included because they come in such a variety of colors, including the rather odd metallic purple of Camilla’s dress. Beyond hue, Heilmeyer writes “In folk tales of Eastern Europe, the cowslip or primrose is the mysterious flower that points the way to hidden treasure and is the key to unlock castles.”
Camilla (with wave of her bouquet): “Windsor, open sesame!”