Prince Charles

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, who was 96, died today at Balmoral castle in Scotland. Well known for her love of the outdoors, she leaves a rich legacy behind—not the least of which is over 1,500 trees planted throughout the world during the course of her reign—with over a million more being planted in her honor. As part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations (marking 70 years since her accession to the throne in 1952) this year, a UK-wide tree planting initiative began last Fall. Dubbed The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), with the motto “Plant A Tree For The Jubilee,” over a million trees were planted from October 2021 to March 2022. Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girl guiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates were encouraged to play their part to enhance the environment by planting trees. More trees will be planted as part of the initiative next month. Included in the trees to be planted this October will be 350 British-grown species that were exhibited as part of the “Tree of Trees” living sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick that stood at Buckingham Palace during Jubilee Weekend. The 350 trees in aluminum pots embossed with Her Majesty’s cypher will be gifted to selected community groups and individuals to celebrate their work and inspire the next generation of tree planters. The trees will be distributed evenly across the UK in proportion to the population. The QGC is giving priority to those seeking to create a cleaner, greener environment which will ...