How Princess Charlotte’s Life Was Put At Risk Due To This Royal Wedding Tradition

The royal family has been following a tradition of using a specific set of flowers for all the royal weddings that have taken place so far. All the royal brides, including Princess Diana, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, used a sprig of flowers that included white gardenias, orchids, freesias and lily of the valley.

However, it seemed that no one was aware of the toxic nature of lily of the valley. Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist, explained on Gardening Know How how these flowers, which may look extremely charming on the outside, can rather be extremely poisonous on the inside.

“Few spring flowers are as charming as fragrant lily of the valley,” Grant wrote on the website. “These woodland flowers are native to Eurasia but have become very popular landscape plants in North America and many other regions.” “However, behind their cute exterior and pleasant scent lies a potential villain,” he added further.

Throwing light at how toxic these flowers can be for children, she explained how having them around could result in an emergency situation too. “Lily of the valley toxicity makes it unsafe to have around children and pets,” explained Grant. “The plant is so dangerous that ingestion could result in a trip to the emergency room, or in rare cases death.”

When Meghan got married to Prince Harry in May 2018, she put the life of Princess Charlotte at risk, courtesy of this royal tradition. Princess Charlotte was then wearing a crown made of lily of valley during her wedding. The photos of Charolette constantly sneezing throughout the wedding have been shared by Express.

According to Grant, the flower poses a major risk to children and pets. “Sometimes the smallest organisms pack the biggest wallop,” she said. “This is the case with lily of the valley.”

So is lily of the valley poisonous? “All parts of the plant are considered potentially toxic,” explained Ms Grant. “The plant contains over 30 cardiac glycosides, many of which inhibit the heart’s pumping activity.”

“Children and domestic pets are most commonly affected, but even a large man can be felled by the toxins. In a home landscape where there are no children or pets, lily of the valley is probably safe,” she concluded.