The man who rose to the occasion
SUCH is the fairy-tale nature of floral designer Shane Connolly’s work that he often finds himself wondering if it really happened. The wedding of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles on April 9, 2005, was one such occasion. Mr Connolly designed the floral arrangements for the civil ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall and the marriage blessing in St George’s Chapel using jonquils, fritillaries, blossom trees and shrubs from the gardens of Windsor Castle in Berkshire, Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Raymill, The Duchess’s home in Wiltshire, that were subsequently replanted.
‘It all felt very natural and understated—a family occasion,’ he recalls. ‘It was only when I recently stood in front of The Duchess’s blue wedding dress and bouquet in a glass case in the V&A Museum that I thought, “My goodness, that was an incredibly historic event—did I really do that?”’
‘As a passionate gardener and lover of Nature, The Duchess was an easy bride to work with’
Mr Connolly, who holds two Royal Warrants —one to The Queen and another to The Prince
