A GARDENER\u2019S World star has died after being diagnosed with a fatal brain illness \u2013 with Monty Don leading tributes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourageous\u201d David J.C. Austin passed away aged 67 after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).<\/p>\n
David J.C. Austin \u2013 seen here with Queen Camilla \u2013 has died aged 67 Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
Monty Don has led tributes to the Gardener\u2019s World star Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
The famed gardener and rose grower \u2013 who showed Queen Camilla around the Royal Chelsea Flower Show in May 2023 \u2013 died at his Shropshire home.<\/p>\n
He died after a lengthy battle with CJD \u2013 an illness described by the US Centre for Disease Control as \u201calways fatal\u201d.<\/p>\n
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In a touching tribute on social media, Monty wrote: \u201cI am so sorry to hear this. My regards and condolences to all his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what legacy he leaves \u2013 millions of exquisite roses that will live on for so many, enriching all our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The renowned horticulturalist also created a rose for the Prince and Princess of Wales Credit: AFP<\/p>\n
King Charles, with David Beckham in background, sniffs the Sir David Rose \u2013 grown by David Austin Credit: AFP<\/p>\n
David \u2013 who owned one of the country\u2019s best known rose growers and sellers, his namesake brand David Austin Roses \u2013 was also hailed for his \u201cenjoyment for life\u201d and \u201ckindness\u201d by his heartbroken family.<\/p>\n
They wrote: \u201cFirst and foremost, Dad was a gardener. That was at the heart of who he was. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe carried our grandfather\u2019s vision with humility and an unwavering sense of responsibility, always putting the roses, the family business and its people before himself. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was kind and modest, with a playful spirit, a sense of adventure and a real enjoyment of life. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe faced his illness with the same courage and dignity that he brought to life. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbove all, he was our Dad, and words cannot express how much we will miss him. We couldn\u2019t be more proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
David oversaw the creation of the Sir David Rose, in honour of the former England captain, chosen by daughter Harper.<\/p>\n
King Charles lead the admirers of the shrub and even had a sniff as it was proudly showed off at the annual\u00a0Chelsea Flower Show.<\/p>\n
Mr Austin has also previously created the William and Catherine rose, designed to celebrate the\u00a0royal\u00a0couple\u2019s 2011 wedding.<\/p>\n
Born in 1958, rose grower David joined the family business \u2013 based in Albrighton, Shropshire \u2013 in 1990.<\/p>\n
His dad, David C. H. Austin, had built up a reputation in the area for his work growing English Roses.<\/p>\n
And following in the footsteps of his father, he went on to take charge of the business for more than three decades.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Royal Horticultural Society said they were \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the news of David\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
He often featured as a guest on Monty Don\u2019s BBC show, in the Gardener\u2019s World magazine and at live events.<\/p>\n
CJD, which often develops sporadically, causes proteins in the brain to fold, leading to brain damage and death.<\/p>\n
But the rare killer condition can also be inherited\u00a0if one parent carries a mutation that causes prions to form in their brain\u00a0during adulthood.<\/p>\n
The inherited form of the disease only affects about one in every nine million people in the UK, according to the NHS.<\/p>\n
Most people die within a year of the first symptoms, including memory loss, impaired thinking, personality changes, and jerky movements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A GARDENER\u2019S World star has died after being diagnosed with a fatal brain illness \u2013 with Monty Don…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1578,93,238158,61,60],"class_list":["post-563510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-gardeners-world","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}