Queen marks Prince Philip's 100th birthday by planting special 'Duke of Edinburgh' rose
10 June 2021, 08:23 | Updated: 10 June 2021, 08:52
Queen watches as special rose named after Prince Philip is planted to mark his 100th birthday
A special rose bred in honour of Prince Philip has been presented to Her Majesty.
The Queen has been presented with a rose bred in honour of what would have been Prince Philip’s 100th birthday.
Planted in the gardens of Windsor Castle yesterday, the special flower was presented to Her Majesty by president of the Royal Horticultural Society, Keith Weed.
The commemorative rose was named in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 at the age of 99-years-old.
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Today marks what would have been his 100th birthday.
Royalties from the flowers' sale will go to the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s Living Legacy Fund, which helps young people take part in the popular scheme.
“It’s a rose named the Duke of Edinburgh Rose to mark his centenary," Mr Weed told the Queen, continuing; "It’s a commemorative rose for all the marvellous things that he did over his lifetime and for everyone to remember so much that he did.
“Each rose, there's a donation that goes to the Living Legacy Fund which will help more children. It's a beautiful flower in itself, a double flower.”
To which the Queen replied: “It looks lovely”.
Mr Weed continued: “Right now, with a cold spring and nature being a little bit behind, it doesn't look so lovely there but that's what it looks like. The picture says it all,’ to which the Queen remarked: ‘Well that's very kind.”
The 95-year-old added the tribute was ‘very kind’ and then remarked that after the cold May 'nothing has flowered here much'.
Opening up about meeting the Queen, Mr Weed later called the moment ‘poignant’.
He said: “Whilst being very poignant, it was also a delight to give Her Majesty the Queen, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Duke of Edinburgh rose to mark what would have been HRH the Duke of Edinburgh's 100th birthday and to remember his remarkable life.
“The Duke's devotion to raising public awareness of the importance of conserving the natural world leaves a lasting legacy.”
This comes after the Duke of Edinburgh passed away ‘peacefully’ at Windsor Castle.
Prince Philip was known as a keen conservationist, and is said to have taken an interest in the management of the royal gardens.
