An iconic native tree has been planted in Chobham to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III.

The King’s representative in Surrey officially planted the whitebeam during a ceremony on March 20.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux, installed the tree on the grass verge of the village cemetery car park.

It was purchased by Chobham Parish Council and replaces a flowering cherry tree that had to be felled because it was diseased.

Mr More-Molyneux and his wife Sarah were welcomed by council chairman Les Coombs.

The vicar of Chobham, Revd Dan Stork Banks, the chairman of Chobham Society David Moss, and parish councillors were among villagers who gathered to take part in the ceremony.

Before filling in the hole made for the tree, Mr More-Molyneux recounted “one of the most amazing experiences of his life” – attending the coronation in Westminster Abbey on May 6 last year.

Anglo-Saxons used whitebeams as boundary markers.