Governor Rena Lalgie this week continued a longstanding tradition by picking Easter Lilies to be sent to the Queen.

This year’s lilies were grown by Pacheco and Sons Farms.

The flowers were set to be on board last night’s British Airways flight to London to reach Windsor Castle for Good Friday.

Bermuda is said to have been responsible for America adopting its trumpet-like white lily as the official Easter lily in the 1880s, when an enthusiastic gardener from Philadelphia brought bulbs home with her.

Shortly thereafter, they were introduced to spring shows throughout America. Ten years later, sizeable shipments of bulbs were being made from Bermuda to the US and England, and a lively trade soon developed.

While the Easter Lily is no longer a major crop in Bermuda, the island still sends some of the flowers to the Queen every year.