'Princess of Wales' Floribunda Rose Plants

Princess of Wales Rose

Princess of Wales is a charming floribunda rose. Pretty cream buds open to reveal full double flowers of pure white, all frills and abundance with a golden tiara of stamens at the centre of each. The flowers are held in clusters of up to nine per stem. Her scent is fresh, not overpowering, and her foliage is dark, glossy and healthy. The flowers come in flushes, from early summer right through to mid autumn or even later in a mild season. She holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, so you're pretty much guaranteed a healthy beauty. Take a look at the rest of our floribunda roses here.

Royal alliances

Plant her with nepeta for a cool blue and white combo that will take your breath away, or underplant with a classic pairing of hardy geraniums, in pink, violet or blue. She looks striking planted en masse in a rose bed, perhaps with a low hedge of box or lavender around her: a smaller variety such as Hidcote is perfect.

In a pot, she must be well watered and fed to keep those gorgeous flowers coming, and mulch with well-rotted manure or garden compost at least once a year. As always, keep your roses deadheaded, and they'll perform even better.

Features of Princess of Wales

• Height: to 90cm
• Spread: to 60cm
• Colour: creamy white
• Shape of flower: double, cupped
• Size of flower: large
• Scent: light, fresh
• Flowering: repeat through summer
• Group: floribunda rose
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Did You Know...

In 1997, The British Lung Foundation asked Harkness to name a rose for its patron, Diana, Princess of Wales. Charles and Diana had divorced by this point, so Diana was no longer Princess of Wales, yet Buckingham Palace allowed the use of the title as it was for a good cause.
Diana chose the rose after looking at a selection of Harkness seedlings. For each Princess of Wales rose sold, a donation was made to the British Lung Foundation.

Just a few months later, in August, Diana died in Paris. Demand for her rose outstripped supply by ten years, and Harkness had to close its phone and fax lines. Thousands of stems of the rose were used for her funeral in Westminster Abbey.