Queen praises ‘beautiful’ poppy display at Tower of London

The Queen has described a commemorative poppy display at the Tower of London as “beautiful” and joked that the ceramic blooms were “quite tempting” to take home.

Camilla visited the historic fortress on Tuesday to launch The Tower Remembers, marking VE Day and the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

The new installation features 30,000 ceramic poppies from the 2014 Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red artwork, now redesigned to flow from the White Tower.

Camilla admired the ceramic flowers and joked: “I see why people would take them. I think they’re so lovely. Quite tempting.”

Project lead Tom O’Leary guided the Queen through the artwork, saying afterwards: “She was very interested in it. She really liked the way that all the different heights comingulate.”

Poet laureate Simon Armitage then read In Retrospect, a poem commissioned to mark VE Day.

The Queen told him warmly: “Lovely. Lovely poem. Thank you very much,” before asking how long it had taken to write.

She met members of the Historic Royal Palaces and Tower teams who helped create the display, as well as D-Day veterans Henry Rice and Richard Aldred, who handed her a poppy to plant.

Camilla was also joined by Yeoman Warder Tracey Machin and her five-year-old son Harrison, who planted a poppy alongside the Queen.

Harrison said: “I did a poppy with the Queen. This is my poppy,” pointing to the ceramic flower he had planted.

Asked why the moment was important, he replied: “Because it’s really, really special.”

He said he enjoyed living at the Tower of London, explaining: “You get to see all the nice stuff,” and that it had been a “really good” day.

After helping with the ceremony, he was given a dragon teddy called Puffy.

“We chatted about all the poppies being here and it was really, really nice for them to be here,” he said.

Ms Machin said: “I could not be prouder of Harrison. He did such an excellent job.

“When you’re five anything could happen so I’m really proud that he stayed very still. Her Majesty the Queen was absolutely wonderful. You can tell she has grandchildren herself.

“She was dressed absolutely beautifully in red and black, co-ordinating perfectly with our poppies. I think she was very impressed with the display as well.”

The Queen was wearing gloves decorated with poppies, and told one attendee she had been given them in France last year.

Mr Rice, 99, said of the visit: “Memorable, that’s the best word, because last year I went to France and had the pride and pleasure of meeting His Majesty and Her Majesty. I said to her quietly, ‘We met last year’, she said, ‘Yes, I know’, and that is fabulous. I mean, why should she remember me?”

He added: “Each one of those poppies there represents a man that gave his life to allow me, my family, this country in fact, to live in peace and comfort.

“I really do thank them and they are my heroes, all of them.”

Outside the Tower, crowds clapped and cheered as the Queen greeted them.

She shook hands with schoolchildren, joking about them missing lessons, before she departed.

One member of the public called out: “God save the King, we all love Camilla, give us a wave.”