By royal appointment: children’s scarecrows appear at the Palace

7 July 2009

A group of youngsters from the Havant and Gosport area are hoping some royal connections will pay dividends for them in a national competition this week.

The children, aged between 5 and 10 and have been receiving support from an inclusion unit run by Hampshire County Council, journeyed to Hampton Court Palace in London on 6 July, with two scarecrows they designed and made for a competition being organised by the Palace and the Royal Horticultural Society. The contest is part of the Campaign for School Gardening launched by the two organisations to promote gardening among young people.

From today the scarecrows will go on public display along with more than 30 other scarecrows selected from the many entries received from schools nationwide. They will be on display until Sunday 12 July and visitors to the annual Hampton Court Flower Show will be asked to vote for their favourite.

The contest has a Tudor theme and after taking a look at the Tudors as part of work at the unit in Havant the children decided to model their scarecrows on none other than one of the palace’s most famous residents, Henry VIII, and one of his six wives, Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn’s gruesome fate is reflected in the scarecrow couple the children designed - she’s depicted carrying her head under her arm!

First prize in the competition is a trophy and £200 in Garden Centre vouchers to go to the winning team’s school.