Royals

Prince Charles reveals the sweet way the Queen inspired his love of gardening

Jul 20, 2018

The Queen gave Charles a vegetable patch. Source: Getty.

It’s no secret that the Prince of Wales has a green thumb, and the future King has now revealed how his passion for gardening developed – and it’s all down to his mother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The 70-year-old heir to the throne opened up about his childhood, revealing that his mother gave him a small, hidden plot at Buckingham Palace where he could grow vegetables with his sister Princess Anne as a little boy.

Appearing on BBC show Gardeners’ World on Wednesday, Prince Charles told presenter Adam Frost “We had as children, my sister and I, a little plot at the back of Buckingham Palace garden where we grew vegetables and things.”

He also credited his passion for gardening to his grandmother, the Queen Mother. He said: “I suspect it was probably partly to do with my grandmother’s wonderful garden at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park where I spent a lot of my childhood. I remember being absolutely riveted as a child wandering about looking at all the plants.

“It was a wonderful woodland garden with masses of azaleas and rhododendrons. The smell and everything had a profound effect on me.”

During tonight’s episode of #GardenersWorld, The Prince of Wales and @frostatwork talk about how HRH fell in love with nature and discuss the threats facing UK trees.

Tune in to @BBCTwo from 8PM. The interview will also be published in @GWmag and is on newsstands from 25th July. pic.twitter.com/WNUo1RcS50

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 18, 2018

Prince Charles also spoke candidly about his fears of climate change and offered some advice to amateur gardeners, encouraging them to ask about the origins of their plants due to the increasing risk of “pests and diseases”.

He was asked by Adam Frost: “If you had one bit of advice for gardeners at home, what would it be?”

To which Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son replied: “Talk to the nurseries where you’re getting your plants from and ask them where do they come from, have they properly checked or quarantined, have you got a biosecurity policy. Because of the risks now we’re facing of all these pests and diseases.

“With climate change adding to these huge challenges and because of the warming up of everything. More and more of these pests and diseases can flourish, where they couldn’t have done before. So we have to take this really seriously.”