Kensington Palace has confirmed that Prince Harry handpicked several flowers yesterday from his private garden at Kensington Palace to add to Meghan Markle’s bespoke bridal bouquet, designed by florist Philippa Craddock.

More significant, though, was the addition of Forget-Me-Nots, in a bid to honour the late Princess Diana.

“The couple specifically chose them to be included in Ms. Markle’s bouquet to honour the memory of the late Princess on this special day,” reads a statement from the palace, adding that these spring blooms were a favourite of Harry’s beloved mother.

Of course, the myrtle sprigs are incredibly traditional, having been taken from stems planted at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

And it is thought that the new Duchess of Sussex will eventually lay her wedding flowers 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.     

It is worth noting that the wedding flowers are not the royal couple’s only tribute to Diana: all three of the late Lady Spencer’s siblings were present at the event, and Lady Jane Fellowes, the sister of the late Lady Diana, stepped up to give a reading.

And, when Harry and Markle announced their engagement last year, they did so in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, reportedly one of Princess Diana’s favourite parts of the grounds. The Sunken Garden now houses the White Garden, created earlier this year to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.

In a subsequent interview, Harry also confirmed that he had crafted Markle’s diamond ring using stones from his late mother’s personal collection.

“The ring is yellow gold because that’s her favourite, and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewellery collection to make sure that she’s with us on this, on this crazy journey together,” he said at the time.

Markle added: “I think in being able to meet […] different people who were so important to his mom, I’m able to, in some way, know a part of her through them and of course through him. It’s incredibly special.

“And you know to be able to have this [the ring] which sort of links where you come from and Botswana which is important to us. It’s perfect.”

Prince Harry went on to say that he was sure his mother would have approved of Markle.

“They would be thick as thieves, without question,” he told the interviewer. “I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, you know, so excited for me. But then, as I said, she would have probably been best friends, best friends with Meghan.

“It is days like today I really miss having her around and miss being able to share the happy news. But, you know, with the ring and with everything else that’s going on, I’m sure she’s with us yeah, jumping up and down somewhere else.”

Image: Getty