HRH Princess of Wales dedicates Abbey tree

Tuesday, 20th December 2022

HRH Princess of Wales dedicates Abbey tree

Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales dedicated a tree in Dean’s Yard at Westminster Abbey to mark the memory of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The tree is a wild cherry tree (Prunus avium Plena) from the estate of the Duchy of Cornwall. It replaces a horse chestnut tree that was rotten and suffered with Summer Sudden Limb Drop earlier this year.

The Princess shovelled the last spadefuls of earth on to the tree and unveiled by a plaque which reads:

This wild cherry tree,
a gift from the Duchy of Cornwall,
was dedicated in memory of
Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
on 14th December 2022.

It forms part of The Queen’s Green Canopy.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a nationwide initiative created to mark this year’s Platinum Jubilee of HM The late Queen’s accession to the throne.

The initiative was due to conclude in December – the end of the Jubilee year – but because the official tree planting season in the United Kingdom is from October to March, the initiative has been extended to include the full tree planting season, beginning in October 2022 and concluding in March 2023.

The Princess of Wales was welcomed to the Abbey by the Dean, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, and members of the Chapter of Westminster. The Abbey’s Head Gardener, Jan Pancheri, and her colleagues Cormac Connolly and Danny Bitten, were presented to the Princess of Wales.