Along with the rest of the British Commonwealth, Fleurs de Villes remembers with fondness and respect her Modern Majesty as the second Elizabethan era sadly has come to a close.

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in the history of the British Commonwealth whose bloodlines could be traced to William the Conqueror. Her family name, Windsor, was taken from the royal residence, Windsor Castle, and chosen to replace the family’s original Germanic name during the Great War. She is certainly the most universally beloved British Queen in history, having been popular throughout her entire reign, and was affectionately known as Lilibet, also the name of her youngest great-granddaughter. 

During this year of celebrations surrounding the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee—an astonishing 70 years on the throne—Verdure Floral Design created the  monarch “en fleurs” from the Coronation Day in 1953 as shown in the official coronation portrait by renowned photographer Cecil Beaton. 

Far from the Queen of sturdy stacked-heel shoes and sensible handbags we knew and loved of late, the young Queen Elizabeth, who was 27 when she ascended the throne, was known to wear furs and diamonds, and to travel extensively between London and Malta, where her dashing new husband Prince Philip was stationed in the Royal Navy. The pair, third cousins, had met when she was 13 and exchanged love letters for 8 years until they were married. She learned of her father’s death, and thus her ascension to the throne, while they were on safari in Africa. 

The Queen was also mother to two toddlers at the time of her coronation, adding yet another layer of responsibility and duty to her new role. According to her biographer Tina Brown, she famously answered “I wish I could” when four-year-old Prince Charles asked if she could play. The Queen’s lasting legacy includes her steadfast service to the Empire, her continuation of the House of Windsor through multiple heirs, her wit and her loving marriage to Prince Phillip, which lasted 72 years. When the Prince died in 2021 at age 99, she reportedly left a handwritten note on his coffin signed “Lillibet.”

When the Queen herself passed away in September 2022, mourners brought flowers from their gardens to throw on the passing motorcade from Scotland and a carpet of flowers stretched out over St George’s Cathedral  greeted mourners at her funeral. The white and green wreath placed on her coffin was composed entirely of flora from the Aberdeenshire Estate, including flox, white heather and pine fir. Most prominent were sweet peas, which can symbolize departures, and dahlias, said to represent lasting commitment, a fitting floral tribute to Her Majesty.