Princess Beatrice is preparing to walk down the aisle to say "I do" to her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on Friday 29 May. And while details are strictly under wraps, from the bride's wedding dress designer to her undoubtedly adorable bridesmaids and pageboys, there is one aspect of the big day that Beatrice is sure to follow in royal tradition.
The 31-year-old is expected to carry at least one sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet – a tradition that dates back to 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert.
© Photo: Getty ImagesBeatrice will carry at least one sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet
Myrtle, the emblem of matrimony, symbolises love and hope and has been used in royal brides' bouquets since the 19th century; the Duchess of Cambridge carried a sprig of myrtle in her bouquet when she married Prince William in 2011, as did the Duchess of Sussex and Beatrice's younger sister Princess Eugenie when they married their husbands in 2018. The Queen also carried a sprig of myrtle when she exchanged vows with Prince Philip in 1947, while Beatrice's mother Sarah Ferguson also followed the tradition.
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Beatrice will no doubt choose seasonal flowers for her May wedding. Flowers that are typically in full bloom are the soft-petalled lisianthus, delicate sweat peas, romantic peonies and the rose-like ranunculi. When Meghan tied the knot with Prince Harry n May 2018, she carried sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine and astrantia, which were all bound with a naturally dyed, raw silk ribbon. Meghan also opted for Forget-Me-Nots, Princess Diana's favourite flowers, in honour of Harry's late mother. And there is another poignant tradition that Beatrice will likely follow at her wedding.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe couple will marry on Friday 29 May
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The royal bride, who is marrying at The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, may wish to send her bouquet to Westminster Abbey after the nuptials, to be 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.
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