If you can still picture those towering field maples lining Westminster Abbey’s aisle during Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 wedding, you have Shane Connolly to thank. And now, he just received royal recognition for his blooms: On January 13, 2026, Princess Anne presented Connolly with an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to sustainable floristry during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The honor might seem long overdue for someone who’s designed the flowers for not one but three major royal milestones—Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding blessing, Prince William and Princess Catherine’s wedding, and King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s May 2023 coronation—but Connolly himself seemed surprised. “You don’t do anything thinking that you’re going to get acknowledgment, so it was very strange because I never expected it,” the 62-year-old told the BBC, adding that it made him feel “old but incredibly fortunate.”
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Catherine, Princess of Wales on her wedding day in April 2011.
For the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Westminster Abbey nuptials, Connolly brought in six field maples, two hornbeams, and nearly 30,000 flowers to transform the abbey into what he described as an “unpretentious and simple” reflection of Kate’s love of nature. The bridal bouquet included lily of the valley, ivy, hyacinth, sweet William (a cheeky nod to the groom), and royal-favorite myrtle.
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But Connolly’s real passion project is sustainability—he’s a co-founder of the Sustainable Church Flowers Movement and insists on using only British-grown, seasonal blooms for his high-profile events. For the 2023 coronation, he sourced more than 120 varieties of flowers from across the UK, including branches from beech trees planted by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1978.
Connolly says his mission is to “rekindle people’s interest in seasonal British grown flowers,” one royal ceremony at a time.
Julia Cancilla is the engagement editor at ELLE Decor, where she oversees the brand’s social media and writes about the intersection of design, pop culture, and emerging trends. She also authors the monthly ELLE Decoroscope column. Her work has appeared in Inked magazine, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, and more.