Duchess Camilla Wants To Save The Bees & Installs Hives At Her Wiltshire Home
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has joined the campaign to save the British honey bee, and installed nine hives in the backyard of her Wiltshire garden. She is on board with husband Prince Charles’ campaign for the environment, and she is eager to do her part.
The Daily Mail says that Camilla placed the hives in the yard of Ray Mill, the home she bought in 1995, after her divorce, and kept when she married Prince Charles. The duchess is enthusiastic about the honey endeavor, and says she adds it to her gin to give it a sweet flavor.
Camilla is joining the efforts to save the British honey bee after learning about the collapse of the bee population worldwide. The Daily Mail says that a particular species of bee is dying off.
“A recent study suggests a third of Britain’s 260 bee species are at risk of extinction from climate change, habitat loss, pesticides and disease,” the outlet reported.
Across Europe, 9 percent are facing extinction.
Some of the honey is being sold at shops including one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorites, Fortnum & Mason, and the proceeds from the sale of the Duchess of Cornwall’s honey, which retails for $25, goes to three charities that support causes close to Camilla’s heart: Medical Detection Dogs, The Silver Line, a telephone helpline that offers support to older people, and a children’s hospice in Oxfordshire, Helen & Douglas House.
Duchess Camilla revealed she keeps bee hives at home at Bee Garden Party https://t.co/LR1rbHm9Cf pic.twitter.com/2GMqklOk0E
— The Crown Chronicles (@crownchronicles) June 13, 2019
A friend of Camilla says that she is very hands-on when it comes to beekeeping and tending her garden.
“The Duchess is a keen beekeeper and she now has nine hives in her garden. She really does appreciate how important bees are for the natural world and is keen to do anything she can to help them thrive.”
And it’s not just Camilla who has beehives, as Prince Charles received some last year as a gift. And these are not your ordinary beehives, as they were all designed with a palace theme by Anthony Paine.
Fortnum & Mason sells the Duchess of Cornwall honey and announced that in April, they would sell only 300 jars of a limited edition honey based on new nectar for the beehives, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Medical Detection Dogs charity, of which the duchess is patron.
Ewan Venters, the CEO of Fortnum & Mason, says that honey is close to his heart, as the store also has beehives on the roof of their location at Piccadilly and a dedicated beekeeper, who collects honey that they also stock on their shelves.
