Human Flower Project

Saturday, May 12, 2007

How To Flower a Queen

A review of bouquets—properly and improperly proffered—during Queen Elizabeth II’s latest U.S. visit.

Queen Elizabeth II accepted bouquets from students as she and President Bush left the White House, May 7
Photo: Jim Young, for Reuters

No wonder she wears gloves! Great Britain’s queen handles nearly as many flowers daily as your local florist. During Elizabeth II’s recent six-day visit to the U.S., carefully arranged around the Kentucky Derby, the Royal She really raked in the bouquets. At each pass of a threshold, drop of a hat, ingress or outing, someone was there poking something in bloom at her.

Of course, this is an international custom, and not one that we Americans are particularly adept at. In our defense, we are unaccustomed to royal types, expending most of our reverence on people who look good in hip-huggers and/or can really swing a golf club. The Queen’s 2007 visit is history, but in the interest of national self-improvement, let’s look back and see what we might have done better, to accommodate Her Majesty.

Virginia’s advice on protocol didn’t mention flowers, but did offer a topic for small-talk.  “The Virginia governor’s office points out that the queen’s favorite pets are her five Corgi dogs—Emma, Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly.”

More detailed is a primer in protocol created by the State of Kentucky which, with a special interest in attracting not just Her Majesty but Her Majesty’s broodmares, has good reason to try to get things right. “There is no need for people who are not British subjects to bow or curtsey,” we learn.

As for flowers, they “should not be presented without clearing previously with the British officials co-ordinating the event.” Uh-oh….

Take a look at these photos. Do they strike you as floral gifts that have been “cleared” or “coordinated”? We’re just a shade away from expecting Her Majesty to chunk a $20 into the self-serve rose cooler at baggage claim. 

Photo: Gary Knapp, for AP

Here, an attractive bunch of young girls meets Queen Elizabeth as she arrives at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, on May 3. No curtsey, and a melee of stems they picked up at Sam’s Club on the way over. Did anyone offer the Queen a stick of gum?

Photo: Lisa Billings, for AP

May 4, the Queen tours Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg and looks refreshed, happy to accept a white rose from a tiny girl in period costume (Her Majesty’s couture of choice also).

Photo: Arthur Edwards, for AP

Later that day—Must have been a bumpy flight into Lexington, Kentucky (or too much spoon bread and jerky in Williamsburg),  as Her Majesty looks perturbed. Her host Will Farish (at left) barks an order and Prince Philip (right) trots behind. Congrats to the Lexington florist who made this lovely bouquet. It indeed DOES appear to have been coordinated with the Queen’s outfit.

Photo: Bill Ingalls, NASA, via Reuters

May 8, the last day of her state visit, the 81 year old monarch seems to be (understandably) devolving from a butterfly into a caterpillar. Here she’s greeted by children after touring NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Doesn’t anyone know that the Queen likes jockeys and deer, not astronauts and geospatial mapping? Who planned this thing anyway?

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, for AP

Here’s where she really earns her crown. Looking fatigued, the afternoon of May 8, Queen Elizabeth II accepts a paper flower from 2 year old Madeline Kurz at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. We’re sure that Her Majesty is by this point ready to drop the handbag, get those shoes off, and catch a nap on a king-size bed with Emma, Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly.

So how do you flower a queen? We give you this sound clip from New Zealand, 1953. Young Rosalie Merritt describes her excitement at having been chosen to present flowers to Her Majesty and then tells just what happened:

“I was over by the Grandstand with the Boy Scouts. And when I saw the Queen’s car coming round the corner I went out in front of it - I wasn’t sure whether it was going to stop or not though, but to my relief I saw that it did. I went up to the Queen and I said to her ‘Please your Majesty will you accept this bouquet?’ She took it and said to me, ‘Thank you, my dear.’”

Can we all practice that?