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FeaturesInsightThe Yorks

Princess Eugenie’s Wedding Bouquet

Princess Eugenie has chosen traditional bridal flowers for the bouquet she carried into St. George’s Chapel, Windsor for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank. The Princess, ninth in line to the throne, mostly stuck with nuptial shades of cream but, as with the rest of her royal wedding, there were hints of the bright hues of autumn among the blooms.

The Princess carried a bouquet made up of white spray roses, stephanotis pips, baby blue thistles, lily of the valley, trailing ivy and myrtle. It was designed by Patrice Van Helden Oakes whose brother, Rob Van Helden, was responsible for the floral designs decorating St. George’s for this second royal wedding there in 2018.

The white roses were widely expected – they are the symbol of the House of York. In the language of flowers, so beloved by Eugenie’s great great grandmother, Queen Victoria, they symbolise purity. The stephanotis is a popular choice for royal brides and denotes marital happiness. Thistles can be a prickly plant to include in wedding flowers, but it has the rather fitting meanings of devotion, strength and durability. Lily of the valley has found a place in many royal bouquets with its rather sweet symbolism of a return to happiness while ivy denotes wedded love.

As tradition dictates, there was also a sprig of myrtle in Eugenie’s bouquet, taken from a bush planted by Queen Victoria. The royal custom of including this plant in the wedding bouquet goes back to Victoria’s eldest daughter, another Victoria, who put myrtle among her bridal flowers for her wedding in January 1858. Myrtle is an ancient symbol of marriage and means love.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank chose autumnal shades for the flowers in St. George’s Chapel on their wedding day with a range of pink, mauve, red and orange blooms and trees decorating the ancient church.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.