The King and The Prince of Wales mark the end of The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative

Published 02 April 2023

Since the initiative was established in May 2021, over 2 million trees have been planted across the UK

As The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative comes to end, The King and The Prince of Wales have planted an Acer tree in the gardens of Sandringham House.

The King, when The Prince of Wales, became Patron of the QGC, which was launched to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

The QGC initiative was extended to the end of March 2023 to give people the opportunity to plant trees in memoriam to honour Her Majesty.

In a message to the nation, His Majesty thanked people from across the United Kingdom who came together to create an inspiring living legacy of over three million trees planted in Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s name, to benefit future generations.

It is hard to believe that two years have passed since my mother and I planted a tree in Windsor Great Park to mark the commencement of The Queen’s Green Canopy. As the second planting season draws to a close, and with it this vitally important initiative, I particularly wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone from across the United Kingdom who has helped to plant over three million trees to create an enduring legacy in Queen Elizabeth’s name.

This project has shown how simple, practical and positive gestures can make a big difference, and I can think of no more fitting tribute to Her late Majesty’s seventy-year reign.

CHARLES R.

As a nationwide initiative created to mark the Platinum Jubilee, the QGC was due to conclude in December – the end of the Jubilee year. However, as the official tree planting season in the UK is from October to March, the initiative was extended to include the full tree planting season, beginning in October 2022 and concluding in March 2023.

In May 2021, The Queen’s Green Canopy was launched by Queen Elizabeth and the then Prince of Wales as Patron. A Jubilee tree was planted at Windsor Castle during the planting season in March.

Since then, the initiative has achieved:

Tree planting: A living legacy of over two million trees planted across the UK in honour of Queen Elizabeth
Urban Greening: Delivery of over 30 special urban planting projects in areas of social and environmental need in all four nations
Conservation: The creation of an Ancient Canopy dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate and raise awareness of the nation’s precious Ancient Woodlands and Trees
Green Skilling: Over 70 young people supported through pilot programmes to achieve experience in the green sector and awards in Community Forestry