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King Charles III

Tiptoe through the tulips: Prince Charles & Camilla attend Sandringham Flower Show

Arriving by carriage as per tradition, The Prince of Wales attended the 134th Sandringham Flower Show with The Duchess of Cornwall on Wednesday.

Prince Charles has been Patron of the Sandringham Estate Cottage Horticultural Society since 2002.

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Sandringham Flower Show is one of the most celebrated horticultural events in the East of England. Taking place Sandringham Park, the one-day show attracts around 20,000 visitors each year.

A month before the show Estate employees, pensioners and tenants have the chance to submit their gardens in judged contests.

The King George VI Challenge Cup is awarded for the best cropped, cultivated and kept Sandringham Estate Cottage Garden. The Queen Mother Challenge Cup is conferred to the competitor who is judged to have the most pleasant Sandringham Estate Cottage garden.

The winners of the King George Vl Challenge Cup and The Queen Elizabeth Cup were presented their prizes by Prince Charles during Wednesday’s event.

The event also contains display gardens by top designers, a craft marquee, military band, entertainment for the children and approximately 200 horticultural and general trade stands.

The Royal marquees hold competitions in fruit, vegetables, flowers and floral art from residents.

The amateur marquee comprises local horticultural and gardening clubs who have the opportunity to enter judged display competition.
In the horticultural marquee, one may find displays by numerous nurseries.

The profits from each show are donated to local charities and since 1977 the Show Committee has given more than £650,000 to various causes according to the Sandringham Estate Cottage Horticultural Society Trust.

Charles and his wife visited several parts of the show on Wednesday. They made stops at the main marquees as well as some tents. The royal couple visited the National Osteoporosis Society, East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH), the Gurkha Welfare Trust, the Sandringham Association of Royal Warrant Holders and the 677 Squadron Army Air Corps marquee.

From the photos of Wednesday’s event, a somewhat frightening moment seemed to have occurred when Charles and his wife were being shown Zephyr the eagle, the mascot of the Army Air Corps. It appears the bird became startled and attempted to fly away.

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“I think the pictures are more dramatic than it actually was. It was a split second; he said ‘hello’ and they moved on. It’s not the first encounter the Prince has had with Zephyr the eagle,” A Clarence House spokesman commented.

The Prince of Wales also inspected a Guard of Honour by the King’s Lynn Air Cadets.

As per tradition, the royal couple departed the show via carriage.

Featured photo credit: Karen Roe via Flickr

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