New sustainable garden opens at Windsor Castle
A new sustainable garden at Windsor Castle has opened to the public, showcasing eco-friendly design and horticulture.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new sustainable garden at Windsor Castle has opened to the public, marking the latest transformation of a historic royal space under King Charles III. The garden, known as the Venus Garden, was previously the East Terrace and had been largely unseen by visitors. It has been redesigned around the King's focus on sustainability, biodiversity, and public access.
The site has a long royal history. It was originally created by King George IV just over 200 years ago, a period when he was increasingly retreating from public life. During the Second World War, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen) and her sister Princess Margaret used part of the garden for the National Dig for Victory campaign, growing vegetables to support the war effort. Later, during Queen Elizabeth II's reign, Prince Philip filled the garden with roses.
Over the last 18 months, the garden has been transformed again according to King Charles's vision. The design is inspired by the path of the planet Venus as it orbits the sun. The King wanted a garden that reflected variety in planting, biodiversity, and sustainability, and that would be shared with the public for generations to come.
Dr Richard Williams, learning curator at the Royal Collection Trust, said the previous garden was a monoculture of rose bushes, whereas the new design includes wildflower meadows that create habitat for insects and increase biodiversity. The garden also features sculptures from one of the most important collections in the country.
The Venus Garden is open to the public from today until September.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC NEWS | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| During the Second World War, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret used part of the garden for the National Dig for Victory campaign. | ||
| The garden is named the Venus Garden, inspired by the orbit of Venus. | ||
| The garden was originally created by King George IV. | ||
| The new design includes wildflower meadows to increase biodiversity. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel presented the garden story as part of a broader news bulletin, following a report about a whistleblower. The coverage focused on the historical evolution of the garden and King Charles's sustainable vision, with a neutral, informative tone. The lead-in briefly mentioned the garden's previous obscurity and the King's sustainability focus before delving into the historical narrative.
- “This royal garden on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle has seen many changes over the years and in the reign of King Charles III it's changed again.”
- “The king wanted to create a garden that reflected the variety in planting biodiversity and sustainability and it would be a garden made for future generations and one that would be shared with the general public.”
This regional news programme covered the garden story with the same historical and sustainability focus as the national BBC News broadcast. The transcript shows a seamless transition from the garden report to a comment about England's World Cup exit, indicating a mix of national and local news. The tone remained neutral and informative, with no additional regional angle specific to the West.
- “This royal garden on the east terrace of Windsor Castle has seen many changes over the years. And in the reign of King Charles III, it's changed again.”
- “The king wanted to create a garden that reflected the variety in planting, biodiversity and sustainability. And it would be a garden made for future generations and one that would be shared with the general public.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.