Queen gets first glimpse of Chelsea Flower Show

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will get a private tour of the Chelsea Flower Show today, ahead of its public opening on Tuesday.

Highlights are expected to include a 24-metre tall pyramid-shaped garden, designed by Diarmuid Gavin. It is constructed over eight levels, each covered in greenery.

Visitors will be taken up to view the higher levels in lifts, with the option of sliding back down through stainless steel tubes.

The build-up to the five-day show had been the wettest for 100 years and gardeners have been having to pump puddles out of exhibits.

But Deputy Show Manager Sarah Easter said the damp conditions also had their benefits:

"The rain has been very welcome, the show will look beautiful and lush", she said.

"Last year it was so hot and dry we barely had any grass. This year it's going to look beautiful."