Queen Camilla looked in high spirits as she got stuck in making a mint tea bag while visiting London’s Gardening Museum on Wednesday and caught up with her old friend Alan Titchmarsh.

The royal, 77, looked looked regal as she stepped out in London sporting an elegant polka-dot monochrome Fiona Clare couture maxi dress underneath her beige trench coat.

She paired the look with a glitzy gold necklace, a navy clutch bag and comfortable monochrome block heels and looked glamorous as she wore her platinum blonde hair in her signature voluptuous blow-dry.  

Camilla joined pupils from Evelyn Grace Academy and Platanos College who were learning about the biology of the tea plant and making herbal tea bags as part of the museum’s learning programme.

One pupil asked the Queen: ‘What flavour do you like?’ She replied: ‘I like mint and a bit of lemon, it helps your digestion.’ 

Camilla was then invited to make her own mint tea bag. After spooning dried peppermint into a bag and inhaling it, she said: ‘I shall sample that tonight.’

The Queen spoke of her wish to become joint patron of the Garden Museum with the King, during a visit today to the museum which celebrates the art, history and design of British gardens.

Camilla, 77, a keen gardener who visited the Chelsea Flower Show last month with the King, was visiting its British Flowers Week exhibition, featuring immersive floral installations celebrating local, seasonal flowers. 

Camilla, 77, looked looked regal as she stepped out in London sporting an elegant polka-dot monochrome Fiona Clare couture maxi dress

Giving some off-the-cuff comments during her visit, she said: ‘I always come back here like a homing pigeon. 

‘I couldn’t miss out on any of these exhibitions and I have said to my husband, and I’ve talked to the office and I very much hope to become the joint patron, because…it is one of my favourite places in the world and it never ceases to surprise me all the wonderful exhibitions that you do, so I will be back.’

Her pledge for patronage was met with cheers and applause from the museum’s staff and some donors who were there.

Camilla was welcomed by gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, with Christopher Woodward, the museum’s president, and Rupert Tyler, the director and chair of trustees who gave a speech thanking her and the King for their support.

The royal is good friends with the gardening presenter and even appeared on an episode of Gardeners’ World with Alan in 2021.

Camilla and Charles are known for being interested in nature, sustainability and the environment with the royal couple taking great pride in their gardens at Highgrove.

She was joined for a tour of the floral exhibition by Sarah Hardy, deputy director, and florist Shane Connolly, who designed the floral arrangements for Charles and Camilla’s Coronation in 2023.

She was especially taken by the installation ‘Through Blooms and Time’ created by Yeon Hee Lee, who told Camilla how she pressed flower petals onto screens as part of the design.

Camilla was invited to make her own mint tea bag and spooned dried peppermint into a bag and inhaled it 

The queen said that she would be trying the mint and lemon tea bag she made tonight

The royal looked in high spirits as she greeted young people during a visit to the British Flowers Week 2025 exhibition, at the Garden Museum, London

Camilla was welcomed by gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh at the event on Wednesday

Camilla joined pupils from Evelyn Grace Academy and Platanos College who were learning about the biology of the tea plant and making herbal tea bags as part of the museum’s learning programme

Camilla donned a gold necklace, a navy clutch bag and comfortable monochrome block heels and looked glamorous as she wore her platinum blonde hair in her signature voluptuous blow-dry

Alan Titchmarsh is seen walking around and viewing flowers with his friend, Queen Camilla 

The royal is good friends with the gardening presenter and even appeared on an episode of Gardeners’ World with Alan in 2021

The queen appeared to be baffled as two figures dressed up as bushes began dancing around her, causing her to beam

Later, Camilla, Patron of The Big Lunch, visited Canary Wharf to celebrate the partnership between the Eden Project and Canary Wharf Group

Queen Camilla is seen tucking into lunch with those involved in the The Big Lunch in Canary Wharf 

‘So these are pressed? It’s rather beautiful. It would make the most lovely wallpaper,’ she said. 

The Queen also viewed ‘Garden Party’, an exhibition featuring photographs, paintings, drawings, costumes and set designs by the photographer Cecil Beaton. 

Camilla saw a selection of Beaton’s portraits of Queen Elizabeth II when she was Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Queen Elizabeth, the Mother. 

Looking at an image of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, holding a parasol taken by Beaton in 1939 in the gardens at Buckingham Palace, Camilla said: ‘I always think this one is so lovely, in her white dress.’ 

While viewing photographs and sketches of Beaton’s set designs for the film My Fair Lady, Camilla said: ‘It’s just wonderful, you just can’t beat that set. I’ve watched the film time and time again.’

Before leaving for another engagement, Camilla was presented with a bouquet of seasonal flowers by Darcie, 4, the daughter of one of the chefs at the museum’s café, before meeting some of the chefs and café staff inside the cafe. 

‘It all smells wonderful here, I wish I was staying to sample some of it,’ she told them.

Launched in 2013, British Flowers Week which runs from June 16th to 22nd, champions the UK’s cut flower industry, celebrating growers, wholesalers, and florists who work with British-grown flowers.

Later, Camilla, Patron of The Big Lunch, visited Canary Wharf to celebrate the partnership between the Eden Project and Canary Wharf Group to transform Middle Dock into ‘Eden Dock’- a vibrant, bio-diverse space which hosts community events.

The queen appeared to be baffled as two figures dressed up as bushes began dancing around her, causing her to beam with excitement.