1925

These old photos are really interesting. Here is King George V (toward the back, with the beard; he's the one who looks like James Middleton) and and Queen Mary, the current Queen's grandparents. We all really think of the 20s as being very Great Gatsby and flapper-y, but this is a good reminder of how slowly fashions really did change, especially for older women.

1925

You can really see the demarcation between Queen Mary's very The Dowager Countess look and the rest of the women in the photo.

1930s

The date on this one is just "the 30s," as it is from a book called George V and Edward VIII, A Royal Souvenir,  which is, per Informative Caption, "a souvenir book published as Edward VIII was crowned following the death of his father, George V," in 1936. Maybe should have held onto that publication for a couple of months!! Regardless: There are SO many flowers in this shot.

1947

Those are some fur sleeves on then-Princess Elizabeth! (I'm not sure who the man is between King George and Princess Margaret. A personage of Royal Flower Importance, I presume.)

1950, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother)

This is a VERY dramatic and fantastic water feature.

1952

The Queen Mum had a real uniform for this event, and it always involved an insoucient little fur. (She and Queen Elizabeth the Actual Queen are in black in these next few slides because George VI had died just three months earlier.)

1952

Informatie Caption here tells us that QEII is strolling with "the Marquise De Casa Valdes, who designed the Spanish Garden." And broke her arm in the process! (I made that up: I do not know how she broke her arm. She did however literally write the book on Spanish gardens.)(That book actually may have been written by her daughter-in-law, but the comment still stands!)

1952

I don't know who the woman in the polka dots and sunglasses is, but...I am currently really feeling that whole vibe.

1953

I love this hat, AND also that is a tremendously large carnation.

1955

Here, the Queen is "inspecting a rock garden feature that has taken her attention as she is conducted around the show by her maternal uncle, the Hon David Bowes-Lyon." It is a VERY attention-grabbing rock feature. David B-L is the younger man here; he died at a relatively young age of a heart attack. He was also president of the Royal Horticultural Society AND "a member of the secret propaganda department Political Warfare Executive" during WWII.

1958

This hat feels very thematically appropriate.

1959

This is a VERY dramatic (and appropriate!) patterned coat on the Queen, who apparently really does love rocks.

1960

There are quite a lot of dramatic 60s hats in this shot.

1961

Princess Margaret here is about four months pregnant, and you can kind of tell from her coat. (Also, Informative Caption informs us that she's "revealing a new centre-parting hair style," which is of course a long-beloved distraction tactic.)

1962

The Queen and her AMAZING HAT are admiring "a rose bed exhibited by 'Popular Gardening' magazine."

1962

I suspect that pin is spectcular in color.

1969

The Queen Mother is allegedly eating a "strawberry grown in a British hothouse" here, but for a long moment, I thought it was a cocktail meatball. (This is also one of her most famous brooches.)

1971

This coat is VERY chic and classic; Kate could pop out in it now.

1971

It's ORANGE

1971

ANOTHER famous brooch -- and a fantastic hat. (The Queen wears this one a lot now. The pin, not the chapeau.)

1973

Please behold the headwear sitation here on Her Majesty. This is a piece I can best describe as "a hairnet covered in bows" and apparently SHE LOVES IT because she has worn it to this event multiple times. It's surpisingly whimsical for the Queen!

1980

A rare moment of the Queen in stripes.

1984

Diana doesn't seem like she came out for this too often -- I read that she told the press that gardening was more Charles's thing, which is surely true as Chaz's gardens are famous. I have GREAT CONCERNS about these hoisery choices!

1987

THE HAIRNET RETURNS!

1989

This photo of Margaret could do double-duty as her author photo on the back of a series of bodice-rippers.

1998

This was at "the Highgrove Garden," which I assume Charles designed. (Highgrove is his county house.) He looks ever so pleased with his handiwork here.

1993

AGAIN THE HAIRNET APPEARS! She must think of this as her whimsical Chelsea Hair Show hat specifically.

1993

One of the best things about this event, at this point in history, is that the Queen makes a LOT of skeptical faces about plants.

1994

Enjoy this Informative Caption: "everything in the garden was edible. And although the Queen decided against an alfresco snack, she and Prince Philip were clearly fascinated by the exhibit created by Safeway when they paid a preview visit last night to the Chelsea Flower Show."

1999

This has a very no-nonsense feel.

2000

The turn of the century featured quite a lot of striding about purposefully looking at plants, it seems.

2001

Is the Queen Mum -- here 101 years old! -- wearing metallic shoes?! I think she is. LEARN FROM HER, KATE!

2001

Fergie's skirt here is PERILOUSLY SHORT for kneeling in.

2002

These two are looking at "the 'Healing Garden,' which was designed by [Prince Charles] in conjunction with designer Jinny Blom to honour the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother," who had died just two months earlier. (That's fast! I wonder if they were designing a garden already and just decided to dedicated it to the Queen Mum when she died.)

2003

"YOU CALL THIS A BOUQUET?!!?"

2008

"What an absolutely tremendous bunch of sticks!"

2011

"Frankly, I'm concerned that Prince Albert doesn't appreciate my hair net!"

2011

Both Princess Beatrice and Sophie Wessex look like they're about to teeter over here.

2012

"YES I HAVE TWO HAIRNETS. I AM THE QUEEN. I HAVE ALL THE FORMAL HAIRNETS I WANT."

2013

Meanwhile, Zara is doing SponCon for John Deere. 

2013

Here, Informative Caption reminds us that "Prince Harry made a surprise unplanned visit to the Royal Chelsea Flower Show, visiting the garden for his charity, called the 'B&Q forget-me-not Sentebale' garden, designed by Jinny Bloom." (Jinny Bloom -- truly the perfect name for a garden designer! -- must be the go-to garden designer for royals.)

2013

"See Gran? FLOWERS!"  (Harry's garden was quite lovely, in all seriousness.

2014

"Oh, no, honestly, I'm just here to pick up some sod."

2015

"And I'm just here for some delightful little baskets!"

2015

"No, Gran! This year, I brought the keg of Pimm's HERE. It's in the back."

2016

"And now she's ANGRY that I DIDN'T get a keg of Pimm's! I can't win!"

2016

All these flowers really are glorious; this is such a nice photo of the Queen. 

2016

And I believe this one won an award. Rightly.

2016

"I felt that florals were JUST RIGHT."

2016

"I mean...this would be a great place to stash a body."

2017

I really like this dress (it's Rochas), and allow me to remind you that this was the day after Pippa's wedding and therefore I truly feel confident that Kate is hungover here.

2017

The royals love a beige shoe under all circumstances, but especially at the Flower Show.

2018

This would be so much better with different shoes. (I do think this would look amazing on a yacht with an Aperol spritz.)

2018

"Fabulous. I'll take them all. Every single one of them."

2019

Last year, of course, Kate and  Adam White and Andree Davies co-designed a garden they called 'Back to Nature', and the Queen seemed to approve. (They brought the kids out to see it, too, and it was VERY cute.)

2019

See you next year?

Nearly 100 Years of Royals at the Chelsea Flower Show

Never underestimate how much royalty likes to get stuck in a bush.