Book  (1971)  Page(s) 82.  
 
Laffay sent out several good roses of this type from 1837 onwards, but his first great success came with the Rose de la Reine, which appeared in 1842 or 1843.  'Baronne Prevost' was sent out by Desprez at about the same time.  Both these roses were lilac-pink in colour, but in 1845 Nerard produced a crimson variety, 'Geant des Batailles'.  The parentage of these roses is not known, but each of them produced a line of self-seedlings (or  supposed self-seedlings). According to Ellwanger (1882), the first two lines were all fully perpetual, with plenty of autumn bloom, though the third were less free in this respect.  These three important varieties have been preserved in cultivation......'Rose de la Reine' (now commonly shortened to 'La Reine)....

Book  (1970)  Page(s) 95.  
 
Nancy Steen. In Search of a Name. When my book was ready for publication, a number of these mysteries still remained unsolved, so particular roses had to be left out.....
Mr. Vonholt, director of the Sangerhausen Gardens suggested that if I would send bud-wood of our rose to an Agricultural Research Station in England, he would do so also. They could then be grown on together.....
Word has now come to hand that our lovely rose is not 'La Reine' but so far, none of the English authorities can name it, though it has some characteristics of the 'La Reine' family.

Website/Catalog  (1968)  
 
LA REINE (Synonymes Reine des Francais, Rose de la Reine) (Laffay 1842). Large fleur double rose incarnat vernissé, très odorante.

Article (magazine)  (Dec 1951)  Page(s) 123.  Includes photo(s).
 
La Reine
Hybrid Perpetual
Botanical grouping: Chinensis
(synonym: 'Reine des Francais', 'Rose de la Reine')
France 1842
... silvery pink with a hint of lilac...

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 603.  
 
Reine, La (HP) Laffay 1843; silky fresh pink, center lilac-pink, reverse silvery pale pink, 8-10 cm., double, fine form, solitary or up to 3, fragrance 5/10, mediocre, floriferous, repeats, few prickles, wrinkled foliage, growth 7/10, upright, bushy, 1 m., hardy. = Rose de la Reine; Reine des Français; Reine du Midi. Is accepted as the Basic form of hybrid perpetuals. Sangerhausen

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 477.  
 
Midi, Reine du (HP) Roland 1867; La Reine X ? ; lilac-pink, very large, double, flat cup form, fragrance 5/10, floriferous, repeats, growth 7/10. = Alice Dureau

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 276.  
 
Français, Reine des (HP) Laffay 1843; vivid lilac-pink. = de la Reine.

Book  (1935)  Page(s) 176-179.  
 
Page 176: [Ellwanger showed that the most prolific Hybrid Perpetual seed-bearers were:] 'La Reine', 'Jules Margottin', 'Victor Verdier', 'Géant des Batailles', 'Général Jacqueminot', and 'Charles Lefebvre'.
Page 177:La Reine Hybrid Perpetual. Laffay 1843... the most powerful rose of all...
Page 178: La Reine Laffay 1843, rose-color, often shaded with lilac, sometimes with crimson, very large, full, cupped... The possibility that 'La Reine' was grown from 'William Jesse' was advanced by Rivers.
Page 179: La Reine was Laffay's climax in size, fulness [sic], color, and form... The persistence of the purple cast in the color... hung into the descendants for many years... a big rose of brilliant rose-pink color, lightly tinged with lilac, more noticeably tinged on the reverse of the petals, and occasionally brush-marked with crimson... Its fragrance is sweet... rather like Centifolia...

Book  (1935)  Page(s) 180, 181, 182.  
 
Page 180: La Reine became the head of a big family of which many survive. Her descendants have, generally, the semi-globular form, are very large, fragrant, and show lilac in the pink or rose-color...
Page 181: La Reine, crossed with other varieties largely unknown, gave to the rose-world some roses of so fine and useful a heritage that they became type roses and heads of families. One of these was Victor Verdier, 1859...
Page 182: Souvenir de la Reine d'Angleterre
Hybrid Perpetual... Another type rose from 'La Reine'
Page 188: 'Charles Lefebvre', 1861, the convergence of two lines, 'La Reine' and 'Général Jacqueminot', a type of rose of thick petals, very velvety and rich in color... given to fading quickly...

Magazine  (Sep 1924)  Page(s) 106-107.  
 
Les principales variétés remontantes cultivées dans les roseraies de la région parisienne mentionnées ci-dessus sont les suivantes : Rosiers hybrides remontants.- Anna de Diesbach, à fleur très grande, d'un rose carmin; Antoine Mouton, rose vif, très odorant ; Baronne de Saint-Didier, rouge cerise très vif; Baronne Prévost, beau rose; Captain Christy, panaché rose foncé sur rose clair ; Clara Cochet, rose clair, centre plus vif ; Claude Jacquet, pourpre écarlate légèrement ombré ; Charlotte Corday, rouge pourpre ; Empereur Alexandre III, rose ; Ferdinand Chaffolte, beau rouge brillant et très odorant ; Frère Marie-Pierre, beau rose de Chine et odeur pénétrante ; Général Washington, rouge luisant, odorant ; Gloire Lyonnaise, jaune chrome, pourtour des pétales largement bordé d'un blanc pur glacé, odeur des roses the ; Her Majesty, rose brillant très pur : Hippolyte Jamain, rose groseille, ombré de carmin, odorant ; Jean Liabaud, cramoisi velouté, reflets noirâtres ; La Reine, rose lilacé ; Louis Van Houtte, rouge carmin luisant; Charlotte Wolter, magnifique rose vif satiné ; Elisa Tasson, cerise clair ; Madame Heine Furtado, rose vif glacé ; Madame Sophie Stern, rose clair métallique ; Magna Charta, rose carmin ; Paul Néron, rose foncé ; Perle Blanche, blanc ; Président Mas, rouge velouté ; Princesse Amédée de Broglie, rose chair vif ; Souvenir de Mme Berthner, beau rouge luisant ; Vicomte Lauzière, beau rouge pourpré.