Dame Deborah James has made a rare outing as she visited the Chelsea Flower Show to see the rose named after her.
The 40 year old, who has been courageously battling bowel cancer for five years, shared earlier this month that her body is "just not playing ball" in a heartbreaking farewell post.
She's been staying with her parents at their home in Woking, Surrey, where she's been receiving end-of-life care – resting and sleeping a great deal amid her cancer.
But on Tuesday 24 May, Deborah decided to venture out to the Chelsea Flower Show in a bid to see in person the rose that was named after her – which is already breaking sales records.
'Bowelbabe' Deborah and her husband Sebastian were joined by TV presenter Sophie Raworth, 54, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for a tour of the show gardens before enjoying a Champagne toast in the Great Pavilion to the Deborah James Rose.
According to the Daily Mail, The Harkness Rose Company has 25,000 available roses in her name on pre-order for delivery this autumn, but 15,000 have already been taken.
For every £16.99 rose that is sold, £2.50 is donated to Deborah's Bowebabe Fund, which will go towards Cancer Research UK. This is in addition to the £6.5million she's already fundraised.
Hannah Albone of Harkness said of Deborah's visit: "She was here on Tuesday night with her husband. She came to our stand and had a look at the rose.
"They got some Champagne and we had a little toast. Then Sophie took us on a tour of all the show gardens. Dame Deborah did not stay too long but it was brilliant. Interest in the rose has been unbelievable. It is the fastest-selling rose in our 140-year history. We feel very privileged."
Deborah also took to her Instagram feed to share two photos of her visit to the Chelsea Flower Show, where she could be seen dressed in a red floral outfit with a straw hat and black boots as she sipped on a glass of bubbly while Sophie crouched down next to her.
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A second snap showed her smiling alongside her husband Sebastian, who donned a white shirt with a navy suit.
In the caption, she wrote: "thank you to @sophieraworth for being my real life fairy godmother and getting me to @the_rhs Chelsea flower after hours to see my @theharknessrosecompany rose. To celebrate it and to see the gardens. You are incredble.
"And the whole thing Brough a well needed smile to my face. (And I wore the “Chelsea dress” I designed from my @inthestyle exactly for it!”)."
Fans took to the comments section to gush over her as one person wrote: "I was at Chelsea Flower Show yesterday and went to see your rose …. It’s so lovely and they said you’d been able to go in for a visit. That made me very happy," with a smiling emoji and a red heart emoji.
Another shared: "My garden is full of roses [rose emoji] I will be adding Dame Deborah to my collection xxxxxxxxxxxxx".
While a third added: "So beautiful, crying right now, you’re leaving such a positive legacy for your family. I’m sure the flowers will be used for all kinds of wonderful celebrations." alongside three red heart emojis.
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