King Charles makes a case for sustainability at first state banquet as monarch

King Charles reportedly made a strong case for sustainability when planning his first state banquet as monarch for South Africa’s President Ramaphosa, reported Metro News.

The banquet, which marked the first since the COVID pandemic and the death of Queen Elizabeth, came about after meticulous planning by royal staff, who were reportedly instructed by King Charles to only order ‘sustainable’ flowers for the event.

A spokesperson from Buckingham Palace confirmed King Charles’ special request, saying: “They are all seasonal and from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Windsor. They have not been flown in from around the world.”

According to reports, the state banquet was decorated using a number of different seasonal foliage, including ‘variegated berried ivy, trailing green ivy, flowering viburnum, mahonia japonica and berried cotoneaster.’

The grand table, set for 163 people, was also decorated with special flowers personally ordered by King Charles himself; it boasted 23 large flower arrangements in silver center pieces which included cyclamen, nerines, rosehips, anemones, amaryllis, chrysanthemum blooms and hydrangeas’.