The caring uncle didn't hold back as he reportedly spent a whopping £8,000 on a first edition of A. A Milne's Winnie the Pooh , printed in 1926. According to a friend: "One of Harry's happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother.
"She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte, and George to enjoy as they get older. He originally wanted to get Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass, which was on sale for £24,000, but decided Winnie-The-Pooh would be more suitable for a first tome. Robinson Crusoe was William's favorite book, but Harry loved all things AA Milne."
It is believed that the copy of A. A Milne's beloved classic was one of the initial 30,000 prints made in the first release, reports the Mirror . Prince Harry's thoughtful gift was a hit at Prince Louis' christening, held at St James's Palace in London on 9 July 2018. The wee lad donned the replica of the iconic Royal christening robe for his special day.
This gown is steeped in history, originally made for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's first daughter's baptism back in 1841. A whopping 62 Royal children have been wrapped up in it over an impressive 163 years, with Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of The Earl and Countess of Wessex, being the last to sport it in 2004. Due to its fragile state, the late Queen decided to preserve the original and had a copy whipped up in 2008, using a rather extraordinary technique.
The honor of crafting the duplicate fell to the late Queen's dressmaker and mate Angela Kelly, who spilled the beans on the process in her revealing tome 'The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser, and the Wardrobe'. Teaming up with dresser Barbara Buckfield, Angela jetted off to Italy to nab the perfect lace, all while lugging the invaluable original in her handbag.
Angela penned in her book: "Together, we sourced lace to complement that being made in Italy, and to make sure it looks authentic we dyed it in Yorkshire tea (the strongest, as we all know). We placed each piece of lace in a small bowl, from the Dressers' kitchen, filled with cool water and a tea bag, and left it for about five minutes, checking regularly until the color was perfect."
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Angela revealed that The Queen was shown the gown at every step of its creation, a process that spanned about nine months. She shared: "Her Majesty was very interested to see how it was developing."
The first Royal tot to don the replica gown was Lady Louise Windsor's brother, James, Viscount Severn, back in 2008. The christening attire has since been worn by Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively. The gown has also graced the likes of Savannah and Isla Phillips to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
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