A report by Lizzie May for The Daily Mail.

The Queen has hailed the ‘friendship and community’ represented by a newly planted rose named after one of Britain’s first black gardeners being planted at Buckingham Palace today.

A yellow rose honouring the 18th century horticulturalist John Ystumllyn was given a spot at Buckingham Palace rose garden on Monday and is expected to bloom within weeks.

The rose is named after the black horticulturalist, who died in 1786, is believed to be the first bearing the name of an ethnic minority Briton.

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It was set next to the Graham Thomas rose, which is named after another famous gardener who died in 2003.

In a statement today, the Queen said: ‘I am pleased that the John Ystumllyn rose is being planted in the Buckingham Palace Gardens today.

‘The rose has been bred as a mark of friendship and community, and I hope guests and visitors to the garden will have the opportunity to reflect on what this rose represents for many years to come.’

The Queen has hailed the ‘friendship and community’ represented by a newly planted rose named after one of Britain’s first black gardeners, John Ystumllyn, was planted at Buckingham Palace today. Diversity campaigner Zehra Zaidi pictured holding a John Ystumllyn rose

A yellow rose which is honouring the 18th century horticulturalist John Ystumllyn was given a spot at Buckingham Palace rose garden on Monday and is expected to bloom within weeks

The rose was planted in the Palace’s rose garden on Monday by Claire Midgely-Adams, the deputy gardens manager for Buckingham Palace, and Zehra Zaidi, a diversity campaigner and founder of the We Too Built Britain campaign, who both took turns with a trowel. 

Watching on was head gardener Mark Lane, who stood with an audience of representatives from gardening communities from across the country.

A further 5,000 John Ystumllyn roses, bred in Hertfordshire by Harkness Roses, have been donated to community garden schemes across the country.

Twenty have been planted around Criccieth Library in north Wales, where Mr Ystumllyn lived.

The rose is named after black horticulturalist John Ystumllyn, pictured, who died in 1786, is believed to be the first bearing the name of an ethnic minority Briton

The plaque which commemorated the day read: ‘The first well-recorded Black person in North Wales. This rose symbolises friendship, community and tolerance. The rose has inspired a community gardening scheme to support community connections and mental health’

Mr Ystumllyn arrived in Gwynedd, north Wales, from west Africa in 1746, aged eight, becoming a servant and then a gardener on his family’s estate.

An account of his life in the Dictionary of Welsh Biography published many years after his death suggested that he was kidnapped while in Africa. It also noted that he was baptised once he moved to Wales.

He married a local girl, Margaret Gruffydd, who was a maid on the estate in what is believed to be Wales’ first interracial marriage, and was popular with locals.

‘When I was trying to highlight the need for diversity in horticulture, I thought his story was perfect because it really was about community and love and friendship,’ diversity campaigner Zehra Zaidi said.

‘When I was trying to highlight the need for diversity in horticulture, I thought his story was perfect because it really was about community and love and friendship,’ diversity campaigner Zehra Zaidi (pictured) said

The rose was planted in the Palace’s rose garden on Monday by Claire Midgely-Adams (right), the deputy gardens manager for Buckingham Palace, and Zehra Zaidi (left), a diversity campaigner, who both took turns with a trowel

Watching on was head gardener Mark Lane, who stood with an audience of representatives from gardening communities from across the country (pictured) 

‘It’s a symbol of love, love overcoming adversity and a community really valuing diversity and each other.

‘After these difficult times with the pandemic, we need something to bring us all cheer – and like John and Margaret, we’re all romantics in the end.’

Yvonne Field, a charity founder who watched the planting, said: ‘To know that’s it here for posterity, it’s here for hundreds of years to come, for me that’s really important.

‘It’s unearthing hidden stories, 300 years it’s been hidden.

‘Often black history is hidden in this country, and we’ve made such a great contribution over decades and centuries.’

The plaque which commemorated the day read: ‘The first well-recorded Black person in North Wales. This rose symbolises friendship, community and tolerance. The rose has inspired a community gardening scheme to support community connections and mental health.’