King Charles III has personally thanked Bermondsey volunteers who planted a tree in Southwark Park to celebrate his 75th birthday last year.
His Royal Highness said he was “heartened” and “enormously grateful”, in a signed letter to the Southwark Park Association 1869.
Patrick Kingwell, Secretary at the Southwark Park Association, had feared their message to the King had got lost among the “millions of letters and emails flying into their office”.
So he and fellow volunteers were “really pleased” to receive his hand-signed reply last month.
Patrick said: “The King is renowned as a man who has an interest in the environment so that chimes with the thinking of our group and I think a lot of local people have a lot of respect for The Royal Family.”
Volunteers planted the Princeton Gold, reportedly Charles’ favourite tree, when he turned 75 on November 14, 2023.
It joins a host of other greenery dedicated to the Royals in Southwark Park, including the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Chestnut Tree.
The card from the King, featuring a photo of Charles wearing an elegant black gown, is marked with the official Buckingham Palace emblem.
Responding to a letter sent by the Southwark Park Association, His Highness wrote: “I am enormously grateful to you for thinking of me on my 75th birthday and for sending me such a touching message.
“This brings you my warmest good wishes.”
The King Charles III Tree was planted with help from Southwark Council and community group Trees for Bermondsey.
The event saw volunteers and Southwark Council representatives, including Cllr Stephanie Cryan and Cllr Rachel Bentley, brave the wet weather to celebrate the park’s newest arrival.
In its letter to Charles, sent in December, the Southwark Park Association, described the park’s historical connections with The Royal Family.
The park was opened in 1869 and, in 1953, a chestnut tree was planted by a main path to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, they explained.
In 2002, Prince Edward, then Earl of Wessex, and the Countess of Wessex, visited the park after it underwent a major heritage restoration project.
In September 2022, thousands passed through Southwark Park while queuing to see the Queen lying in state.
Last year, a Tulip Tree was planted as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy.