King Charles III Picked Out Floral Wreath, Wrote Letter for Queen Elizabeth II’s Casket: Read His Note

usmagazine.com:

A special tribute. Ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, eldest son King Charles III had specific requests when it came to her casket display.Charles, 73, laid a handwritten note atop his late mother’s coffin during the Monday, September 19, processional ahead of the funeral service.

His card read, “In loving and devoted memory” and included his official royal signature of “Charles R.”The signed tribute sat beside a large floral arrangement — which the new sovereign helped pick out.“At His Majesty The King’s request, the wreath contains flowers and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove House,” a statement from the palace noted on Monday. “This includes foliage chosen for its symbolism.”Charles made sure to include bunches of rosemary for remembrance, English oak for the strength of love and myrtle.

The sprigs of myrtle symbolize a happy marriage, which is a sweet nod to her seven-decade marriage to the late Prince Philip, who died in April 2021.

The myrtle had been cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig in her original 1947 wedding bouquet. The wreath also included scented pelargoniums, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias and scabious in various hues of gold, pink, burgundy and white.The reigning monarch also requested that the wreath be made “in a totally sustainable way” using a nest of English moss and oak branches without any floral foam to hold its shape.Elizabeth’s coffin — which also was adorned by the Sovereign’s Orb and the Sovereign’s Sceptre With Cross — was carried into Westminster Abbey by the British royal navy on the State Ceremonial Gun Carriage.