The Queen and the Prince of Wales will plant a tree later at the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire to mark a special initiative ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.

It will herald the start of the planting season for a scheme called the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), created to mark 70 years’ service to the nation.

The monarch and Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, will plant a copper beech tree at the Balmoral Estate’s cricket pavilion on Friday, joined by schoolchildren from nearby Crathie Primary School.

Next year, the Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate the milestone, having acceded to the throne on February 6 1952, aged 25.

The QGC aims to “create a lasting legacy” to the Queen by urging people to start their own tree-planting projects across the UK with the call to action: “plant a tree for the jubilee”.

The QGC encourages tree planting to take place during October to March, to optimise the chance of trees surviving and flourishing.