Queen Elizabeth Meets Schoolchildren During Outing With Prince Charles

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles met with local schoolchildren and planted trees as part of her Platinum Jubilee initiative — photos

A mother-son appearance! Queen Elizabeth II and her eldest son, Prince Charles, kicked off the monarch’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee with a joint public appearance at Balmoral Estate in Scotland.

The Queen, 95, and the Prince of Wales, 72, joined forces to mark the beginning of the U.K.’s planting season, where they planted a tree on behalf of the queen’s Green Canopy initiative and met with Scottish school-aged children.

“🌳 Today The Queen and The Duke of Rothesay welcomed local schoolchildren onto the Balmoral Estate to mark the start of the @QueensGreenCanopy tree planting season in the UK,” a Friday, October 1, post on the Royal Family’s official Instagram account read. “🍂 Her Majesty and His Royal Highness planted a copper beech as part of the Platinum Jubilee initiative.”

In addition to planting trees, the duo met several children who’ve won the newly launched Junior Forester Award. The honor aims to teach “children about the environmental benefits of trees, as well as practical woodland management skills,” per a description via the Instagram post.

The long-running monarch donned a trench coat with a leaf-printed scarf tied around her head and pink lipstick as her son opted for a gray suit and olive coat. The pair were all smiles as they posed for official photographs before meeting the students from Crathie Primary School in Craithe, Scotland.

Two students later handed the queen a book about planting trees in a video shared on the social media site. “Oh, right, I shall look at it in the car,” she noted while flipping through its pages. “Thank you very much.”

The queen and Charles later helped plant a copper beech sapling as part of her “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee” program before getting further face time with the schoolchildren and faculty. The queen’s Green Canopy initiative is designed as “a unique tree-planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 by inviting people from across the United Kingdom to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.’”

The royals have invited “everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates” to do their part, planting trees during the official planting season between October to March, according to a description on the QGC website. Following the conclusion of the season this year, the initiative will reopen in October 2022 until the end of her Jubilee year.

“With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC will encourage planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation, which will benefit future generations,” a statement on the QGC website read. “As well as inviting the planting of new trees, The Queen’s Green Canopy will dedicate a network of 70 Ancient Woodlands across the United Kingdom and identify 70 Ancient Trees to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years of service.”

The royals announced plans for the queen’s milestone 70 years of power in June with a parade, concert, pageant and more festivities.

The Jubilee, which will be combined with her 96th birthday celebrations, will kick off in June 2022 with the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony before a Service of Thanksgiving, a horse race at the Derby at Epsom Downs and a Platinum Party at the Palace concert. While Charles, Duchess Camilla, Prince William and Duchess Kate have attended every year, it was speculated who would be invited to the 2022 events.

“The Jubilee is a family event, and all of the queen’s family will be invited, including [Prince] Harry, Meghan [Markle] and their children,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in June.

Scroll below for photos of the queen and Charles’ latest royal outing: