As an antique dealer with a specialty in British Royal memorabilia on my website Time Was Antiques, I decided to share excerpts from the catalog of Royal Wedding gifts that Prince Charles and Princess Diana received at their wedding in 1981 and were subsequently on display at St. James Palace, London where I bought the catalog. I listed the gift catalog on Time Was Antiques last June. When Will and Kate announced their engagement in November, the gift catalog was purchased by an NBC producer for a show in the future. But I had notes I had made about the gifts which I will be sharing some of during the next few weeks.
There were 994 gifts recorded in the catalog and on display at St. James Palace from the sublime to the ridiculous. There was certainly a lot of humor, a lot of love and thought and for many, a lot of time and effort spent in the gifts. Here are some illustrated by photos of similar items, many from Google's photo lists. I have not identified gifts by name, just location and maybe the organization if that was who the giver was:
Item Form Whom/where
#1 a long case clock The Order of the Bath
2 a Georgian design mahogany library ladder Hertfordshire
3 a crystal vase London
5 antique silver-gilt inkwell with shell lid Middlesex
6 Isle Of Wight glass vase Isle Of Wight
8 Herend porcelain pheasant Norfolk
10 a blue and white tray London
12 a picnic basket equipped for 6 Suffolk
16 2 pillows and 2 fishing satchels Norfolk
18 set of 8 crystal tumblers Hampshire
19 a Megamix food processor London
20 a videocassette recorder Hampshire
21 Victorian gaming and work table London
22 an inlaid screen and breakfast table London
23 pair of Chippendale hanging shelves Lancaster
24 2 Mason's blue poppy lamps with blue silk shades Norfolk
25 a pair of boot scrapers Suffolk
26 large wicker dog basket Yorkshire
28 large dog basket Scotland
29 Aynsley Rosedale tea service British Ceramics Assoc
30 a microwave oven Toshiba
33 an inscribed garden trug East Sussex
38 a pair of miniature chairs made by the donor Elf Miniature Furniture
39 a Steuben crystal frog Cheshire
47 pair of engraved pen and pencils USA
49 white mohair jersey with hedgehog on front Cornwall
53 gilded mantlepiece clock Duke & Duchess of Bedford
63 Royal Crown Derby dessert service People of Derby
65 Herend porcelain duck London
69 a horse brass Surrey
70 decorated egg containing a bride and groom USA
71 2 hand knitted orange/yellow ski hats USA
74 2 books on Chile Anglo Chilean Society
75 a tea cozy knitted by the donor Cheshire
78 a hand knitted tea cozy Jersey
79 wooden hand carved fruit bowl 48th Leeds Brownies
So there is an installment of the gifts Charles and Diana received. I'll list some more next week. It's really fun to see what they got......
Have a great day and check the Royal Wedding Wednesday post to see what to wear!
1 comment:
I am amazed that some of the gifts are so well ordinary. I love it.
In case my invitation does happen to arrive now I know just what to give.
Post a Comment