Beckham sports rose named in honour of the King

Former England football captain David Beckham was sporting a rose in honour of King Charles at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The 50-year-old was wearing the King's Rose, which is the first striped variety to be grown by David Austin Roses in Albrighton, Shropshire, when he met the King and Queen Camilla at the event in London on Monday.

David Austin Junior, the company chairman, said he selected the flower after recalling a conversation with the then-Prince Charles in the 1990s about the first roses they had grown.

Both men had nurtured the same striped hybrid perpetual rose, and the King's Rose is also striped.

Mr Austin showed the royal couple the new flower at Chelsea and was said to be "delighted" with their response. The Queen was also given a posy.

Proceeds from sales of the rose will go to The King's Foundation.

Liam Beddall, the company's senior rose consultant, said: "When he [the chairman] saw this striped seedling in the breeding trials, he knew that he wanted to name it in honour of the work of the King's Foundation."

The shrub rose can grow to about 4ft (1.2m) and "boasts delicately papery petals with distinct stripes in shades of fuchsia pink and white", according to David Austin Roses.

Mr Beddall said it was also very attractive to pollinators.

The breeding programme for a new rose, like the King's Rose, is a lengthy process that can take about 12 years.

Mr Beddall said each year they cross about 40,000 roses, which are then whittled down through assessments, just to produce one or two new roses.

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