The Royal Parks in photos - May
We look back at May through some of our favourite photos, past and present.
May was a wonderful month in the Royal Parks, with ducklings and goslings hatched and exploring their new surroundings. Richmond Park's Isabella Plantation was in full flower, attracting visitors and pollinators alike, and it was a good time for a wander in any of the rose gardens as they began to bloom in late spring. Read on for some of May's best photos.
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Richmond Park -
Richmond Park
Around the parks
VE Day 80
A military procession and flypast took place in May along and above The Mall in St. James's Park, to mark 80 years since Victory in Europe (VE) Day. The procession featured more than 1,300 armed forces personnel and passed by a specially constructed platform on the Queen Victoria Memorial which housed His Majesty The King, members of the Royal Family and more than 20 Second World War veterans.
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St. James's Park -
St. James's Park -
St. James's Park -
St. James's Park -
St. James's Park -
St. James's Park
The rose garden in The Regent's Park
The work in Queen Mary’s Garden in The Regent’s Park was completed in March, with a new mulch, winter pruning regime and labels for each variety of rose. The new mulch that will enrich the soil is made with organic materials and woodchip from Richmond Park. Early signs are that the garden’s famous roses are responding well to the changes.
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The Regent's Park & Primrose Hill -
The Regent's Park & Primrose Hill
Play in the Park
We held two Play in the Park events in May, in Kensington Gardens and Greenwich Park. There are free events open to the public throughout the year, all aiming to help children and families from local communities enjoy being outdoors in the Royal Parks.
A look back in time
Troops from Basutoland, the former Lesotho, in Kensington Gardens, 30 May 1946. The troops - part of the South African High Commission Territories Contingent - had been temporarily encamped in Kensington Gardens before taking part in London's V-Day Parade.
Almost 100 years ago it wasn’t uncommon to see sheep grazing in the Royal Parks on a spring day, like this one in Hyde Park in May 1936. Sheep have been brought back to work in the Royal Parks from time to time in recent years, particularly in The Green Park for a project to revive wildflower meadows and improve biodiversity. We also work with Shire horses on conservation projects, using traditional methods to avoid compacting the ground with heavy machinery.
A couple of gardeners at work outside Buckingham Palace in May 1929. We still care for the famous flower beds today, with over 20,000 geraniums of three distinct sizes grown in the Hyde Park nursey from September to June each year before being planted outside the palace for everyone to enjoy.
This photo shows arrested suffragettes being escorted over the bridge in St. James's Park, following an attack on Buckingham Palace. The Royal Parks have a history as places of protest, with Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park known around the world. It was in Hyde Park that an estimated 300,000 people gathered to demand votes for women in June 1908.
Do you have a photo of one of the Royal Parks that you’d like to include next month? Or an old family snap from decades past? Please get in touch on digitalcomms@royalparks.org.uk, we’d love to hear from you.
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