LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry and his American fiancee Meghan Markle have chosen a London florist beloved of the fashion industry to arrange the flower decorations for their wedding in late spring, Kensington Palace said on Sunday.
Philippa Craddock, whose client list includes designer Alexander McQueen and British Vogue magazine, will use seasonal blooms from around Windsor to decorate the ceremony venue, including white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.
The May 19 wedding of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, fifth-in-line to the throne, and Markle, star of the US TV legal drama “Suits,” will be held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The florist will also use branches of beech, birch and hornbeam from the surrounding parkland and the couple themselves helped select the foliage.
“Working with them has been an absolute pleasure,” Craddock said. “The process has been highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun.”
“The final designs will represent them as a couple, which I always aim to achieve in my work, with local sourcing, seasonality and sustainability being at the forefront.”
After the wedding, the flowers will be distributed to charities.
Harry, 33, and Markle, 36, have invited 600 guests to their wedding, although the names of the guests are still secret.
More than 2,500 members of the public and figures from charities the couple support are invited to watch the arrivals of the bride and groom and their guests, and to see them depart on a carriage procession around Windsor after the ceremony.
UK’s Harry and Meghan pick fashion favorite for wedding flowers
UK’s Harry and Meghan pick fashion favorite for wedding flowers
Makkah museum displays world’s largest Qur’an
MAKKAH: The Holy Qur’an Museum at the Hira Cultural District in Makkah is showcasing a monumental handwritten copy of the Holy Qur’an, recognized as the largest Qur’an of its kind in the world.
The manuscript measures 312 cm by 220 cm and comprises 700 pages, earning the museum recognition from Guinness World Records for displaying the world’s largest Qur’an, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The manuscript is a magnified reproduction of a historic Qur’an dating back to the 16th century, the SPA stated.
The original copy measures 45 cm by 30 cm, with the chapters written primarily in Thuluth script, while Surah Al-Fatiha was penned in Naskh, reflecting the refined artistic choices and calligraphic diversity of the era.
The Qur’an is a unique example of Arabic calligraphy, gilding and bookbinding, showcasing Islamic art through intricate decorations, sun-shaped motifs on the opening folio, and elaborately designed frontispiece and title pages that reflect a high level of artistic mastery.
The manuscript was endowed as a waqf in 1883. Its original version is currently preserved at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries, serving as a lasting testament to Muslims’ enduring reverence for the Qur’an and the richness of Islamic arts across the centuries.
