Sunbury florist Annette Duff will never forget when two air hostesses burst into her workplace at Tullamarine airport in 1986, requesting flowers for Queen Elizabeth II.
“It was just a normal day at work [when] all of a sudden [they] ran in the door, in a bit of a panic, because they forgot to order a posy,” she said.
“They needed [one] pretty much straight away, because The Queen was about to touch down and they needed a posy to present to her.”
She was just 22-years-old at the time, and now, 36 years later, Ms Duff co-owns Irelands Florist of Sunbury, where she’s set up a display for the monarch in the window.
Ms Duff said The Queen might be her most famous bouquet recipient, and she hadn’t in her “wildest dreams” thought she’d be called on to make her one.
“I quickly put together a posy suitable for her – small, full of flowers like roses, carnations and other blooms that were in season,” she said.
“I was nervous to get it right, because I knew how important it was.
“I was just thinking, I can’t wait to tell mum what I’ve done today when I get home, because it was an honour.”
Ms Duff said when she heard the news of The Queen’s death, she cried.
“She’s the only head of state I’ve ever known, I think she’s done a wonderful job,” she said.
“Even though she was elderly, she was a pretty important person for my generation.”
Elsie Lange
