Prince Harry's involvement in this year's Chelsea Flower Show has seen ticket sales soar. "Once people found out who was involved, it was bound to attract extra attention," said Stephen Bennett, the Royal Horticultural Society’s director of shows. "We usually sell out in late April or early May, but tickets have gone faster than usual." The young royal's participation has made the event a sell-out and ticket touts are now charging up to 20 times the face value for a ticket to the horticultural extravaganza.
A total of 161,000 tickets to the centenary of the London show have been sold to keen gardeners and fans of the fun-loving prince alike. Face value tickets range from £22 to £65 but some sites are charging in the region of £400 for the event which runs from 21 to 25 May. Fans of the fun-loving prince, who has shown a keen interest in the garden being designed by his Sentebale charity, are hoping to catch a glimpse of him at the event. It seems Harry's interest in gardening may have stemmed from his green-fingered father Prince Charles, whom TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh once described as "the best royal gardener we've ever had". The Sentebale 'Forget-me-Not' garden aims the raise awareness of the work done by the charity which Harry established after spending time working with vulnerable children in Lesotho. The horticultural creation, designed by Jinny Blom, is a "contemporary evocation of the landscape and culture of Lesotho".
Prince Harry gardening in Lesotho in 2004
In February, Harry visited the Sentebale project in Lesotho after returning from his deployment in Afghanistan. Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 to help the country's vulnerable children and means 'forget me not' in Sesotho, the language spoken in Lesotho, and was deliberately chosen in memory of both of the princes' late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. In the meantime, Harry will tour the US for his second official solo trip. The week-long visit will focus on promoting the rehabilitation of injured American and British troops as well as publicising his own charities. Harry's visit will take in several locations between 9 and 15 May. He is scheduled to travel to destinations including Washington DC, Denver, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Click here for the latest Prince Harry news