Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding will be a mix of modernity and tradition, but there's one custom the bride might choose to follow. Meghan, like Kate and many royal brides before her, may wish to send her bouquet to Westminster Abbey following her nuptials. A bride's flowers are typically laid to rest on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior – a tradition that began with the Queen Mother.
When the Queen Mother married King George VI in 1923, she laid her bouquet on the tomb in memory of her brother Fergus, who was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Loos during the First World War. The grave stands as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the First World War and to all those who have died since in international military conflict.
Kate sent her bouquet back to Westminster Abbey after her wedding
The tradition has been followed by many brides, including the Queen, Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge. When Kate married Prince William in 2011, she chose to send her bouquet back to her venue, Westminster Abbey.
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Kate's stunning bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and drew on the significance of flowers for the royal family, the Middleton family and on the language of flowers. Her bouquet included sweet William – a tribute to her husband – lily-of-the-valley, a symbol of happiness, and ivy, to represent wedded love, fidelity, friendship and affection. Kate's bouquet also contained sprigs of myrtle – a tradition that dates back to 1840 when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert carrying myrtle in her bouquet.
Meghan is expected to carry her favourite flowers, peonies
Meghan may not send her bouquet to Westminster Abbey as her wedding venue is outside of London. It is the bride's personal preference; Zara Tindall married in Scotland and therefore did not send her bouquet back to London. The Countess of Wessex is the only bride to marry outside of London who chose to send her bouquet back. But given Prince Harry's connection to the army – he served in the forces for ten years – it's likely that Meghan will honour the royal tradition.
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Fans are also counting on the bride carrying peonies. Meghan, 36, is a big fan of peonies, which will be in season at the time of her wedding in May. The star's now-deleted Instagram feed was filled with beautiful pictures of peonies in all different colours: pink, white and coral.