Prince William and Princess Kate’s “Unpretentious” Wedding Florist Feels “Old but Incredibly Fortunate" to Receive Special Royal Honor

Princess Kate holds her wedding bouquet.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William and Princess Kate will celebrate 15 years of marriage this April, but their wedding florist is celebrating right now. Shane Connolly, the owner of Shane Connolly & Company—known as the “Floral Alchemists”—and co-founder of the Sustainable Church Flowers Movement, has been appointed an MBE. The royally-approved florist, who also provided flowers for the King and Queen's 2005 wedding and the 2023 coronation, said the honor made him feel “old but incredibly fortunate.”

Speaking to the BBC, Connolly said, “you don't do anything thinking that you're going to get acknowledgement, so it was very strange because I never expected it.” The florist, who focuses on sustainable practices, says he hopes to "rekindle people's interest in seasonal British grown flowers.”

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and his new bride Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge walk down the aisle at the close of their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. — Prince William and then-Kate Middleton walk down the tree-lined aisle of Westminster Abbey, designed by Shane Connolly.

Shane Connolly, the Royal Wedding Florist stands next to an English Maple tree placed inside Westminster Abbey in preparation for the Royal Wedding on April 26, 2011 in London, United Kingdom. — Shane Connolly poses with the royal wedding trees in Westminster Abbey.

General view of trees and flowers arriving at Westminster Abbey for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 26, 2011 in London, England.

"I've been incredibly lucky that I've been commissioned by the now King and the now Queen to do their wedding in 2005, to do the Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding in 2011 and to do the flowers for the coronation,” Connolly said of his career highlights.

Back in 2011, Connolly spoke to the BBC about the upcoming Royal Wedding of the Century. He revealed that the wedding’s “theme is that everything is from the estates, that everything is English, that everything is seasonal, and all along Catherine has asked that it's just all neutral colour-wise.” Connolly reveals that “the aim [was] that the Abbey looks unpretentious and simple and natural and that it reflects the fact that Catherine is a country girl at heart."

Who could forget those iconic trees lining Westminster Abbey’s center aisle?

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Christine Ross is a freelancer writer, royal expert, broadcaster and podcaster. She's worked with news outlets including the BBC, Glamour, Talk TV, ET, PBS, CNN and 20/20 to cover the foremost royal events of the last decade, from Prince George’s birth to the coronation of King Charles III.

She previously served as co-host of Royally Us, a weekly royal podcast by Us Weekly. As a freelance writer and royal commentator she provides expert commentary, historical context and fashion analysis about royal families worldwide, with an emphasis on the British Royal Family.