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Chelsea Flower Show: Queen hopes to attend 2022 event, says Palace

PA Media The Queen at Chelsea Flower Show in 2019PA Media
The Queen has mobility issues that have left her unable to attend some events lately

The Queen is hoping to attend the Chelsea Flower Show next week, Buckingham Palace says, as preparations for the 2022 event get well under way.

Members of the royal family will visit the event at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London on Monday, ahead of its official opening the next day.

For several weeks, 44 designers have created 39 gardens to be explored.

It is understood a decision will be taken on the day as to whether the 96-year-old monarch will attend.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra are all confirmed to be attending the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) event.

Four of this year's installations are said to be commemorating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Among the displays will be The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Garden, which will feature laser-cut steel silhouettes of the monarch, surrounded by 70 planted terracotta pots, representing each year of her reign.

PA Media Two men pruning a display ahead of the Chelsea Flower ShowPA Media
A total of 390 horticultural exhibits will be on display

The royals will also be shown The Mind Garden, which provides a colourful place for people to connect and open up.

It will later be transported to a local Mind organisation to provide eco-therapy.

Other highlights from this year's event include the Hands Off Mangrove by London-based group Grow2Know, which draws inspiration from the Mangrove Nine racial activist group.

PA Media A Chelsea Flower Show garden being preparedPA Media
The event will be held in the grounds of Royal Hospital Chelsea
PA Media A young woman working on Chelsea Flower Show preparationsPA Media
Twenty-four designers are expected to make their RHS debut this year

The RHS show is returning to its regular spring slot this year after being held in autumn 2021. The RHS expects up to 140,000 visitors will be in attendance across five days.

The Queen has been the royal patron of the RHS since 1952 and was a regular visitor to the garden show with her parents as a child.

She has attended more than 50 times during her 70-year reign.

The show begins on Tuesday, 24 May and will run for five days.

PA Media A Chelsea Flower Show garden. with a statue of a man in the centre. being preparedPA Media
Up to 140,000 are expected to attend this year's event
PA Media A man in a fluorescent jacket working on a garden sculpture ahead of the showPA Media
Gardeners have been preparing for weeks ahead of the opening
PA Media Workmen in fluorescent jackets preparing a colourful and spherical-shaped sculpture for the showPA Media
The 39 gardens being prepared will all have different themes
PA Media A woman arranging plants during preparations for the showPA Media
Sustainable gardening is a theme of the event

The BBC's coverage of the event will begin on Sunday 22 May.