Duchess of Sussex and new bride Meghan Markle has just tied the knot to Prince Harry, but she’s officially started her royal duties as she followed a sentimental royal tradition which involves placing her bouquet of flowers on the grave of a soldier.
The bouquet was made up of Forget-Me-Nots (Princess Diana’s favorite flower), scented sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine and astrantia, and sprigs of myrtle, and blooms picked from the gardens at Kensington Palace by Prince Harry himself. The new Duchess placed the floral arrangement on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey on Sunday.
According to WHO’s sister publication PEOPLE, Meghan has done this as it’s a royal tradition that dates back almost a century, “starting with Queen Elizabeth’s mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who became the Duchess of York (and later Queen Elizabeth) when she married the future King George VI (then the Duke of York) in 1923.”
This has since been a tradition upheld by nearly every major royal bride has had her bouquet placed at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, whether they married at Westminster Abbey or not. Queen Elizabeth did, as did her sister Princess Margaret in 1960 and her cousin Princess Alexandra in 1963. PEOPLE also reports that new age royals such as Princess Anne, Princess Diana, Sarah, Duchess of York and Sophie, Countess of Wessex carried on the tradition in 1973, 1981, 1986 and 1999, respectively. Kate Middleton did it following her wedding in 2011, too.
We’re sure Meghan made the Queen proud!
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