Queen Camilla is out for one of her husband’s royal patronages.
Camilla, 76, joked on a visit to the Garden Museum in London on Wednesday, June 12, that she might “nudge” King Charles III out of his position as patron. She was there to see the museum’s “Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors” exhibit.
“I don’t know how many visits I’ve paid here — quite a lot,” she said in an impromptu address to the crowd. “I know my husband’s patron but I might have to nudge him, I’d quite like to take that one away from him.”
Like her husband, Camilla has long held gardening as a hobby. During the visit, English gardener and television presenter Alan Titchmarsh remarked on her green thumb.
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“She’s a great gardener, and I know that Ray Mill is a wonderful retreat for her with her own garden,” he said. “We would be very happy to have the queen and the king as patron, either or both. We just love that she loves to come.”
On the exhibition itself, Camilla said, “It’s such a special place that every time I’m asked, I just like to come back again, and I think this wonderful exhibition celebrating women in [gardening] is so important.”
“I’m so glad that you are celebrating all the women who are these great gardeners, because we do love gardening,” she added. “It’s quite often the men who get celebrated and not the women, so I think you’re doing a brilliant job here.”
Royal florist Shane Connolly, who designed the flowers for Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding, was also in attendance.
“It’s lovely because they’re both gardeners so we’ve got the most amazing support — a patron who’s a gardener and his wife who comes to see us, so it’s absolutely fantastic,” he said of the two royals.
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The museum is just one of the royal patronages that Charles, 75, has retained from prior to his ascension to the throne in 2022. At the time, he also took on 376 of the 492 patronages that his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, held before her death.
Over 1,000 organizations currently have a member of the royal family as patron. The palace says it is currently undergoing a “major review” of royal patronages and charity presidencies, with a full list eventually expected.
Camilla currently serves 90 charities as patron or president. While the causes vary, many support health, literacy, those in need, animals, dance and the arts, according to the palace. Many of Charles’ patronages center around his passion for the environment and the arts.
