Northampton plant expert 'honoured' to create Royal wreaths

The wreaths were used at the carol service that took place at Westminster Abbey earlier this month

A plant expert said it was an "absolute honour" to make wreaths for the Royal Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.

The concert, which will be broadcast on Christmas Eve, was organised by the Princess of Wales.

Tony Le-Britton, who runs a plant shop in Northampton, was tasked with creating 12 eco-friendly, sustainable festive wreaths for the event.

"I got to be involved in something really special," he said.

The carol service took place on 8 December, with the theme of "children and families" - reflecting the Princess of Wales's early years campaign work.

Among the 1,500 attendees were midwives and nursery teachers, young carers, and those who may have had a challenging year, including children and families, or those who find the winter period difficult.

The wreaths, created by Tony Le-Britton, had to be completely natural without any plastic

The Westminster Abbey choir performed carols, and there was a special duet by Beverley Knight and Adam Lambert.

Among the festive decorations were Mr Le-Britton's 5ft (1.5m) wreaths.

"It has been an absolute honour, it really has been," he said.

The shop owner said the request to make the decorations came through his relationship with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), for which he makes videos on plant care.

Tony Le-Britton runs a plant shop and makes videos on plant care for the RHS

He said: "Obviously I bit [their] hand off. I just put my head down, sourced everything locally and I made all of the wreaths in my kitchen.

"I know the plants well and I know what to do, and we couldn't use any plastic, any foam or anything like that.

"So the base of the wreath is woven British-grown willow and all the foliage is British."

Mr Le-Britton said there were two wreaths at the entrance to Westminster Abbey and the rest were displayed throughout the nave.

"It's lovely to see the whole Royal Family with the wreaths either side of them," he said.

Royal Carols: Together At Christmas will be broadcast on ITV1 at 19.45 GMT on 24 December.

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