The Prince and Princess of Wales chose to adorn part of Westminster Abbey with eight trees marking a new trend in royal decoration

Prince William and Princess Kate on their wedding day, and the Abbey aisle lined with trees.Credit : Suzanne Plunkett – WPA Pool/Getty; Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

When Prince William and Kate Middleton walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey for their wedding in 2011, the royal couple caught the world’s imagination.

As they started a new royal era, Kate’s gown made Sarah Burton, then of Alexander McQueen, a star and introduced her bridesmaid sister Pippa Middleton into the public consciousness.

But the couple had also added some imaginative touches to the wedding day, including a woodland theme that saw part of the aisle lined with trees.

Six field maples and two hornbeams proudly stood along their route in and out of their marriage service. The greenery, towering 20 feet above the congregation, brought scents of the forest into the Abbey, and it was said at the time to reflect the couple’s love of the countryside.

A bird’s eye view of the Westminster Abbey aisle and the display of trees on April 29, 2011.Suzanne Plunkett – WPA Pool/Getty

The man behind the floral and wooded designs, Shane Connolly, was recommended by William’s father, King Charles.

In keeping with a sustainable ethos, the trees were replanted on royal estates. After initially being taken to Charles’ country home of Highgrove, the BBC says, six of the trees from the ceremony are now standing tall in a Welsh farmhouse called Llwynywermod, near Llandovery in Carmarthenshire.

Charles had the home at the time of the wedding, but it is now owned by William, as head of the Duchy of Cornwall, who has decided to rent it out.

On Jan. 13, Connolly was back in a royal residence when he was handed his MBE honor at Windsor Castle by Princess Anne. It reflected a long career as a key provider of sustainable flowers for use by the family. (He also designed the floral tributes for the future King Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding blessing at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2005 and curated the florals for their May 2023 coronation, a job he called the “commission of a lifetime.”)

The use of trees at William and Kate’s wedding ceremony is something that has been partially re-created by Kate every Christmas when she imports fir trees from the royal estates for use in decorating Westminster Abbey at her annual carol service. They are then distributed to charities (including a homeless center visited by William and the couple’s son Prince George, 12) for use during the festive period.

Describing his wedding day ethos, Connolly told the BBC at the time, “The aim is that the Abbey looks unpretentious and simple and natural and that it reflects the fact that Catherine is a country girl at heart and that the couple are the best of British.”

“The trees are field maples, which is a very English native tree and the field maples symbolize reserve and humility. The hornbeams represent a resilience in the language of flowers, so we hope that the couple’s life is full of resilience and full of strong love.”

Princess Kate and Prince William, in Northern Ireland in Oct. 2025, enjoy spending time in the countryside.Chris Jackson/Getty

Not only did the trees on their wedding day mirror William and Kate’s love for the countryside and, perhaps, Kate’s own upbringing in rural Berkshire (acorns were included in her section on the couple’s coat of arms), but they also heralded a long-term message of the Princess.

The trees being delivered to Westminster Abbey in London ahead of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011.Danny Martindale/WireImage

Being in nature and especially under and around trees and woodland has been an ongoing theme of Princess Kate’s messaging about wellbeing and, importantly, healing and recovery since her cancer diagnosis in 2024.