Daily Times

Some days, you just have to stop and smell the roses-and that’s exactly what the royals had planned. Dressed in a vibrant jade green belted jacket, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton arrived to the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday alongside her husband, Prince William, for the first time.

The married pair was joined by Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth II, who is a royal patron of the event.

The monarch, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday, made her 51st visit to the reoccurring show sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society dressed in a powder blue overcoat and pearls-the perfect complement to the spring colour palette surrounding her.

Among the floral exhibits was a breathtaking display of 5,000 poppies surrounding the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for hundreds of retired British soldiers. Kate and William were so eager to get a closer look at the sea of red, they both squatted closer to the floor in unison. Additional bushels of the Princess Charlotte chrysanthemums were shown blooming in honour of the 1-year-old royal cherub, for whom they were aptly named and specially bred by the Dutch flower company, Deliflor. The new flower is a sweet shade of pink with green tips.

Another particularly touching floral exhibit was sponsored by each, an organisation for which Middleton has been a royal patron since 2012. The establishment aims to provide medical care and support to children up to 18 years old who are facing life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Children’s charities have been at the forefront of Middleton’s royal initiatives this year, particularly involving mental health. She has also partnered with Place2Be, a UK organisation that champions for counselling services provided in schools. While the duchess of Cambridge focuses on her children’s initiatives from the perspective of a mother, she maintains that it takes not just family members to improve the wellness of children everywhere. “We need schools and communities to play their full role to help children who are struggling in ways that are not always easy to see,” she previously said.