Prince Harry bought a first edition of A.A Milne’s Winnie the Pooh book for his nephew, Prince Louis – an idea which was inspired by his memories of his late mother
Prince Harry has spoken warmly of his memories of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales many times over the years.
And it seems he used one of his most treasured memories as the inspiration for a christening gift for Prince Louis.
It emerged that the Duke of Sussex wanted to remember Diana's love of collecting first editions of classic books and started to do the same for his two nephews and niece.
And it is clear the doting uncle spared no expense as he reportedly dished out £8,000 on an original copy of A.A Milne's Winnie the Pooh from 1926.
A friend revealed: "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 favourite book, but Harry loved all things A.A. Milne."
The Duke of Sussex is understood to have bought a 1926 A.A Milne copy which was one of the original 30,000 printed in the first run.
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Prince Harry's wonderful gift must have gone down very well during Prince Louis' christening which took place at St James's Palace in London on July 9, 2018.
For his big day, the youngest of the Wales children wore the copy of the traditional royal christening gown. The original was commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for their eldest daughter's baptism in 1841.
It was subsequently worn by 62 royal babies across 163 years, with The Earl and Countess of Wessex's daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, being the last to wear it at her christening in 2004.
The delicate condition of the artefact resulted in the late Queen placing it into conservation and a replica being created in 2008 using the most unique method.
The important task fell to the late Queen's dressmaker and close friend Angela Kelly who revealed exactly how she did it in her eye-opening book 'The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe'.
Along with dresser Barbara Buckfield, Angela travelled to Italy to find the perfect lace for the new gown while she carried the priceless original in her handbag.
She wrote: "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 colour was perfect."
Angela showed The Queen the gown at each stage of the process, which took about nine months. She said: "Her Majesty was very interested to see how it was developing."
Lady Louise Windsor's brother, James, Viscount Severn, was the first royal baby to wear the replica of the gown in 2008. Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis all wore the replica at their christenings in 2013, 2015 and 2018 respectively. The gown has also been worn by everyone from Savannah and Isla Phillips to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
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