Queen and Prince Charles plant tree at Balmoral ahead of jubilee

The copper beech sapling was planted as part of an initiative to mark the Queen's upcoming platinum jubilee.

Queen and Prince Charles plant tree at Balmoral ahead of jubileePA Media

The Queen and the Prince of Wales have planted a tree at Balmoral Castle as part of a special initiative marking her Platinum Jubilee.

As they poured soil around the copper beech sapling, Charles quipped: “Let’s hope it will survive.”

The move marks the start of the planting season for a scheme called the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), created to mark 70 years’ service to the nation.

The Queen and Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, planted the tree at Balmoral’s cricket pavilion on Friday, joined by schoolchildren from nearby Crathie Primary.

<meta charset=utf-8>Children from Crathie Primary School joined the Queen and Prince Charles as they planted the tree.”/><cite class=cite>PA Media</cite></div><figcaption aria-hidden=true><meta charset=Children from Crathie Primary School joined the Queen and Prince Charles as they planted the tree.

Pupils from the school have undertaken nature projects as part of the QGC initiative, and were exploring woods in the Balmoral grounds on Friday.

Next year, the Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee, having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952, aged 25.

The QGC aims to “create a lasting legacy” to the Queen by urging people to start their own tree-planting projects across the UK with the call to action: “Plant a tree for the jubilee.”

The scheme encourages planting to take place between October and March, to optimise the chance of trees surviving and flourishing.

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