Queen to miss Chelsea Flower Show for first time since 2005

The Queen is to miss this year's Chelsea Flower Show for the first time since 2005, after the date was moved because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Queen and senior members of the Royal Family will not be seen at the RHS show this year, one of only a handful of times she will have missed it in her reign.

She is currently at Balmoral as is customary for the monarch at this time of year. The show was moved from its annual date in May to take into account Covid-19 restrictions.

This year, the Royal family contingent will be made up of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Princess Alexandra.

Since the Coronation year, the Queen is thought to have missed 10 Chelsea Flower Shows, according to the RHS, most recently in 2005 when she was on a visit to Canada.

They will tour the gardens and see displays including the RHS Queen’s Green Canopy Garden, created to highlight the importance of trees and woodlands to the environment.

It goes alongside a tree planting project celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee next Summer, and coined the “tree-bilee” by the Prince of Wales.

They will also visit the Guide Dogs’ 90th Anniversary Garden, and attend a private reception.

Last year, the Chelsea Flower Show was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War, with the Queen instead sending a virtual message for the RHS’s online festival.