Prince Charles of Luxembourg is the latest royal to have a rose named in his honour. The nation he will one day rule is known as ‘’the country of roses’’ and members of the Grand Ducal Family have had different types of the flower named after them for over a century. But they’re not the only royals to enjoy these special tributes. As keen gardeners start to dream of next summer while clearing the ground for winter, here’s a taste of some of the roses that could give your garden a royal feel.
The House of Windsor
UK rose growers have produced blooms named after many members of the Queen’s family. Queen Elizabeth was developed in the early 1950s in honour of the brand new Queen and since then, this floribunda has produced several varieties. The original is pink but there are also yellow and white versions now and it is described as ‘’robust’’ which makes it pretty much an ideal match to the record breaking royal it is named after.
Described as strong, upright and inclined to keep on blooming, the Duke of Edinburgh is a deep coloured red rose with delicately layered petals. Almost identical, but with a touch more regal purple to them, is the Prince of Wales rose. The Duchess of Cornwall is commemorated in flower form in the shape of an apricot coloured rose with a strong scent and petals as densely packed as the embellishments on one of Camilla’s hats.
William and Catherine is an English shrub rose with full petalled blooms that thrives in the summer sun while Princess Anne is a medium pink tea rose with hints of gold. Another pretty pink tea rose with a strong scent is named in honour of Princess Alexandra of Kent.
It is well known that Diana, Princess of Wales loved white flowers and there is a cluster flowering floribunda in that shade named in her honour. It blooms profusely and its influence is felt in the garden far longer than many other flowers. There’s a message in there, somewhere.
Historic Royals
La Reine Victoria is a pretty pink flower named in honour of you know who. Rosette blooms with the hint of a watchful eye, all in mid pink, are the hallmarks of a rose called Anne Boleyn. There’s another old rose in pink called Queen Anne while a small rose with double flowers in purple and lilac is named Mary, Queen of Scots.
The Queen Mother’s 90th birthday was marked with a pale pink rose that opens out fully into side flowers with a gentle scent.
You can also celebrate recent royal history with a trio of roses named for the Queen’s historic milestones. The Silver Jubilee is a bush rose in a deep coral tone while the Golden Jubilee is, unsurprisingly, yellow in hue. The Diamond Jubilee is a shrub rose in deep cream.
A garden of European queens
Queen of Sweden is a pretty, medium sized rose that blooms into a delicate shade of pink and is sweetly scented. It would sit happily alongside the deeper rose shades of the Queen of Denmark, a large bloom which, appropriately for the longest lasting monarchy in Europe, is an old rose.
Bourbon Queen is another pink bloom, another old rose but darker and smaller. Like the royal house it is named after, it likes to spread.
