We all know King Charles is a keen gardener, lovingly tending to the plants at Highgrove House, so we suspect Thursday was a wonderful day for His Majesty.
Rather than a boring day at his desk, Thursday saw the King take to the gardens at Windsor Castle, alongside Queen Camilla and the Swedish King and Queen, Carl Gustaf and Silvia, to plant a tree, allowing the monarch to flex his green fingers.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were given the "beautiful" Swedish oak tree by the King and Queen of Sweden, which they planted together in the grounds of Windsor Castle, basking in the glorious May sunlight.
"With any luck it’ll take to the soil, I hope," King Charles quipped before thanking the Swedish royal family’s gardeners for the tree, with the Queen calling the tree "beautiful."
© Getty ImagesTo make matters even more special, the King of Sweden used a spade which his great-grandfather, Gustavus V, used to plant an English oak in Windsor Great Park in 1908.
A member of the Crown estate said of the original tree: "It is now a big oak tree that is still alive today."
© Getty ImagesA heartfelt gift
The special gift from their fellow royals was planted to mark King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation, almost two years ago, and is twinned with another Swedish oak that will be planted by Victoria, the Crown Princess of Sweden, at the Royal Djurgarden in Stockholm.
© Getty ImagesThe tree likely meant a lot to King Charles who is passionate about gardening. The royal shared his best gardening tips with Radio 4 several years ago, cautioning fellow tree planters, telling them: "I planted a lot of the trees and I cut off the end of my finger, banging in stakes. I had to be taken to Swindon Hospital to have it sewn back on again."
He also encouraged his fellow plant lovers to be pragmatic in their approach to cultivating their green space.
"No two years are the same," he lamented. "So, what was a disaster one year will probably be a success the next year. So don't despair. Nature's quite interesting like that."
Here’s hoping he didn't sustain any injuries when planting his new Swedish tree!
