When in 1947, just two years after World War 11, Princess
Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, decided to get married, one of the
problems facing the Princess was her wedding outfit.
As the
potential monarch of England, Princess Elizabeth was expected to put on a royal
show on her wedding day despite the bleak economic outlook of the country which
affected her as much as anybody else.
Fortunately,
even governments seem to get a little sentimental at the mention of a wedding.
To make a bride feel special during this period of recovery, each bride
received two extra clothing coupons on top of their yearly 36 coupons. In the case of Princess Elizabeth, it was extra
two hundred coupons.
But
while in this case it was the Princess who received the gift, in 1914, during
the first World War, it was a Princess who did the giving.
Princess
Mary, 17 year old daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, organised an appeal
to raise funds so that every Sailor and every Soldier received a gift at
Christmas.
The
gift consisted of a tin filled with various items including tobacco, sweets. spices,
pencils, a Christmas card and a picture of the princess.
The
tin itself, in which these gifts were packed, was made of brass, 5" long by
3¼" wide by 1¼" deep with a hinged
lid. Embossed on the lid was the profile portrait of Princess Mary surrounded
with a wreath.
Around the lid is a border with ‘Imperium
Britannicum’ scripted on the top and ‘Christmas 1914’ down the bottom. In the
corners between decorations of flags, ships and weapons, are names of Britain's
allies.
Princess Mary's Christmas Gift 1914
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