Prince Charles visits Transylvania Florilegium wildflower painting exhibition at Romanian Cultural Institute in London

Prince Charles visited on Thursday the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in London, where he admired the exhibition of botanical watercolors that illustrate the hardbound collector's book "Transylvania Florilegium", a celebration of the uniqueness and diversity of the Romanian natural heritage; the Prince also participated in the launch of the namesake deluxe album put out by Addison Publications, ICR said in a release. 

Prince Charles was welcomed by Romania's Ambassador to the UK Dan Mihalache, president of the Romanian Cultural Institute Liliana Turoiu and ICR London director Dorian Branea. They were joined by Sir Nicholas Pearson and Lady Henrietta Pearson, the initiators of the exhibition and the album. 

Liliana Turoiu discussed with the high guest about the involvement of the institution in the multiple heritage preservation projects Prince Charles is running in Romania through the Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation. The ICR president also took this opportunity to thank the heir to the British throne for accepting that the Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation in Romania become one of the partners of the Romanian Cultural Institute in carrying out the program for the celebration of the Greater Union Centennial. 

The attendance included several of the 36 leading international artists who signed the 124 watercolors, personalities of the London cultural milieu, leaders of the Romanian community in the UK, diplomats and cultural diplomats attached to the Romanian missions in London and their partners. 

After visiting the exhibition and leafing through the album, both produced at his commission, Prince Charles, an adept of traditional methods of exploiting natural resources, enjoyed a small culinary exhibition of Romanian organic products and artisanal items by the chefs of the Musiu Restaurant in Timisoara, which was recently entered in the first edition of the Gault & Millau Romania Guide. The Prince also tasted a Selected Cramposie from the well-known Avincis winery in Dragasani, ICR informs. 

At the end of the event, the ICR head presented the distinguished guest with an album and a dedicated artwork by Mihai Topescu, while the Romanian Ambassador offered him a pen inspired by the creator of this writing instrument, Romanian Petrache Poenaru. 

ICR mentions that this is Prince Charles's second visit to the London offices of the Romanian Cultural Institute, after having accepted to participate in the varnishing, in 2014, of an exhibition of Transylvanian landscape paintings, also accomplished at his suggestion and with his support. The visit four years ago was the first time the Price of Wales visited a Romanian diplomatic mission. 

The ICR also mentions that the release of the album and the exhibition at the ICR London offices were covered by the British media, The Guardian and Gardens Illustrated included. 

The deluxe album "Transylvania Florilegium", published under the supervision of reputed botanist Dr. John Akeroyd, with a preface written by the Prince of Wales and including 124 paintings drawn in seven years will be printed in two volumes, ICR announced. 

The multi-art event organized around this exceptional editorial appearance dedicated to Romania's biodiversity is part of the Romanian Cultural Institute's program devoted to the celebration of the Grand Union Centennial. The varnishing of the exhibition and the launch of the volume were complemented by a lecture given by John Akeroyd, Prince Charles's botanist, on the richness of Romanian flora, a digital photo exhibition of Bucharest parks, and the inauguration of a botanical art installation dubbed 'The Great Union Garden' in Belgrave Square near Buckingham Palace. 

The entire project unfolds on the sidelines of the famous Chelsea Flower Show, one of London's top visible international events, and is carried out by the Romanian Cultural Institute in London together with a consortium of Romanian and British partners: the Embassy of Romania in London, The Prince of Wales's Foundation, Addison Publications and the Bucharest City Hall through the Bucharest Creativity, Art and Tradition Center Creart.