Following the death of Benjamin Disraeli in 1881 the Primrose League was established in 1883 to commemorate him and in support of his ‘one nation’ politics.  On 19 April,  the anniversary  his death, members wore primroses (Primula vulgaris), and statues of of Disraeli were decorated.  The League prospered for many years, having two million members at its peak in 1910, and raising concern about the number of primrose flowers picked each year. Later in the century it declined and it was finally wound up in 2004.

However, according to The Times of 21 April 2014, on 19 April ‘a small delegation’ gathered around the statue of Disraeli in Parliament Square, London.  It appears that no primroses were placed at the base of the statue; none were seen when it was visited on 21 April.

Image:  statue of Benjamin Disraeli, later Lord Beaconsfield, Parliament Square, London; April 2014.