[1] She requested that the anniversary be marked by the sale of roses in London to raise funds for her favourite charities.

The arrival of Princess Alexandra of Denmark in the United Kingdom for her marriage to the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in 1863 was a public occasion.

This was attributable to the then recent increase in the railway network, the lack of royal occasions in preceding years and the new process of photography, which had made it possible for pictures of the Princess to be sold in shops prior to her arrival.

When the 50th anniversary of her arrival and wedding came, a processional drive through the streets of London seemed an obvious choice, but Alexandra wanted an occasion that would help the sick and needy.

She developed an idea which would benefit the funds of London hospitals through the sale of artificial wild roses, which were to be made by young women and girls with disabilities at the John Groom Industrial Training Home.