They have been bullied, been the butt of jokes and even hounded out of their homes, just because they are ginger.
But a red letter day looms for the redheads of the world at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
They will be the guests of honour as the Carmarthenshire attraction on 26 August as it hosts a celebration of ginger - the aromatic root, that is.
Redheads will get in free - although wearers of comedy ginger wigs have been warned not to try their luck.
The event will promote the garden's new tropical glasshouse, which features many examples of the zingiberaceae plant family, to which ginger belongs.
Visitors will be able to sample home made ginger beer and the garden's restaurant will have a ginger-themed menu.
"Speaking as a strawberry blond, I'd rather be called a redhead than a blackhead or a brownhead, that's for sure"
It means that the likes of Prince Harry, former Labour leader Lord Kinnock and Simply Red star Mick Hucknall would forgo the normal £8 admission fee if they decided to pop their ginger heads through the doors.
David Hardy, of the garden, said: "In these hyper-political correct days, it seems to me that you can only get away with denigrating two groups of people - gingers and the Welsh.
"So, a 'free to all redheads' offer at the National Botanic Garden of Wales is the perfect way to redress the balance.
"Also, speaking as a strawberry blond, I'd rather be called a redhead than a blackhead or a brownhead, that's for sure.
"And I'd rather eat a gingerbread man than any of the alternatives!"
Senior horticulturalist Jess Gould was also reverential about the culinary properties of the ginger variety of plants.
"There are 1,200 or so species of ginger and lots of them have aromatic oils which make them useful for culinary purposes," she explained.
"Ginger has been used in cooking for 2,000 years - it's been used by man for such a long time, no one now knows where the original wild species came from."
The root is also believed to have medicinal qualities.
Researchers have claimed it can help the fight against ovarian and bowel cancers, ease arthritic pain and improve circulation.
The tropical glasshouse was opened in July and is home to thousands of palms, orchids and giant leaves.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~41~RS~)