I’ve had a rose named after me – I hope my daughter will have it in her wedding bouquet, says Deborah James
A STUNNING rose has been named in honour of Dame Deborah James - and will help raise money for her charity fund.
The 40-year-old told The Sun she hopes one day her daughter Eloise, 12, will have the white and pale pink flower at the heart of her wedding bouquet.
“All I can think is what a stunning thing to have,” the Sun writer said.
“It makes me sad but it fills me with so much joy that this rose can now be bred for years and years to come.
“Maybe one day Eloise will choose to have it in her wedding bouquet.”
Dame Debs was presented with a stunning bouquet of her new rose by the team at The Harkness Rose Company.
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They will be introducing the new flower at their stand at Chelsea Flower Show next week.
For every rose sold, £2.50 will be donated to the BowelBabe Fund, which has raised a staggering £6.4million in just over a week - £7.5million if you count Gift Aid.
Debs added: “Roses are my favourite flowers and I hope this one will brighten the smiles for all.”
Philip Harkness, Chairman of The Harkness Rose Company, says, “Dame Deborah has been inspirational in her tireless efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer.
"I am honoured to be introducing this rose for her and I am sure it will be a favourite in the nation’s gardens.
"I am proud that we can launch this rose in aid of the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, and the charity donation from every rose sold will help ensure Deborah’s legacy lives on.”
It comes just a day after Deborah revealed she has created a clothing line with In The Style, releasing a charity T-shirt.
The top, emblazoned with her inspirational motto Rebellious Hope, sold out in a matter of hours with 30,000 selling to raise £210,000 for her fund in under 24 hours.
The rest of the collection will be released later this summer, by Deborah’s family.
She said: “I can’t believe how quickly it sold out, I’m blown away yet again.
“The charity T-shirt is just a sneak peak at the collection but I am so proud.
“It’s a quote I have used time and time again, and rebellious hope is most certainly how I’ve lived my life.
Ian Kennedy of Roses UK said: “We are honoured to have played a small part in arranging the naming of this rose for Dame Deborah James.
"It’s always a pleasure to be involved in rose naming’s and this one is particularly special - the perfect rose for an exceptional and courageous lady”.
Last Monday, she shared a heartbreaking Instagram post saying she was now receiving end-of-life care at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, because the heroic efforts of her team of medics at The Royal Marsden Hospital in South West London were now fruitless.
She said her body “simply isn’t playing ball”, adding: “My body is so emaciated that I have no choice but to surrender to the inevitable.”
On Monday she managed to get out of the house for the first time in 10 days.
The 40-year-old spent some time at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey with her husband Sebastien Bowen.
The mum-of-two was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer just days before Christmas in 2016.
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