Queen’s bouquet rests on Grave of the Unknown Warrior
Sunday, 7th May 2023
The Queen’s Coronation bouquet has been laid at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Her Majesty’s request.
The bouquet is a simple tied bunch of English spring flowers. It contains auriculas and lily of the valley, which featured in Her Majesty’s wedding bouquet in 2005, along with hellebores, which also featured during Their Majesties’ wedding, in The King’s buttonhole. Jasmine and wallflowers add to the sweet scent of the bouquet, which will be placed on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Echoing tradition
The gesture echoes a tradition of royal brides sending their bouquets to rest on the grave which was begun by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at her marriage to King George VI in 1923. On her way into the Abbey, she paused to lay her flowers in memory of her brother Fergus who was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Loos during the First World War. Since then, brides including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales have continued the tradition.
A remarkable tribute
The Warrior's Grave stands as a remarkable tribute both to the fallen of the First World War and to all those who have died since in international military conflict. In 1920, the Reverend David Railton, a First World War army padre, suggested that an unknown soldier from the battlefield should be brought back to Britain for burial as a representative for all who had died. The grave remains a focus for pilgrimage and a powerful symbol, known across the world, of the sacrifice, suffering and bravery brought by war.
Picture:© Press Association
