The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-03-02 00:00:00

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S WEDDING
PRESENTS.

A letter from a lady, at Berlin, dated Feb. 18, says

_
Yesterday I had the pleasure of inspecting the
jewellery of the Queen's eldest granddaughter; and as
I think you in England would like to know some par-
ticulars about the gifts and the givers, I venture to
give you as good a description as t:me will permit me
to do. First of all I must tell you that there is a
large quantity of plate sent by Queen Victoria, which
I have not seen, as it is not yet unpacked, but the
jewellery and personal ornaments are all laid out
in the Red Saloon of the Crown Prince's Palace,
Unter den Linden, where I was fortunate enough to
gain permission to see them. It would be diffi-
cult to describe the dazzling brilliancy of the spec-
tacle which this collection of precious ornaments pre-
sented as I first gazed upon it. I cannot pretend to
mention every article nor all the givers. To take
those coming from English relatives and friends first
—there are three bracelets from the Prince of Wales,
ichly ornamented rubies, diamonds, and sapphires.
Princess Louise has sent an elegant golden casket, and
the Duke of Connaught a splendid chatelaine, while
another English Prince and Princess have presented
a very valuable and chaste tea service in silver, and a
ring with five superb emeralds. The Queen of Eng-
land has also given her granddaughter a pair gi re-
markably beautiful pearl earrings. From the Duke
of Cambridge comes a golden chronometer, with baro-
meter attached, and from the Duchess of Cambridge
a lovely fan. From Lady Odo Russell, the wife of
the British Ambassador at Berlin, there are five
rich and elegant vases; from Miss Napier, a hand
mirror with some very delicate and beautifully
worked ornamentation. Miss Macdonald has sent a
chatelaine with chronometer. Miss Grant Duff a
unique necklace with ornaments, in imitation of old
coins in the South Kensington Museum, and Mrs.
Sails Schwabe an escretoire and writing garniture in
the Italian style. To speak now of the presents from
the other Royal and princely relatives of the bride.
The Emperor, the Princess's grandfather, has given
his granddaughter a magnificent pearl necklace, with
four rows of pearls of the purest and most perfect de-
scription, and containing 480 pearls in all, the value of
which must be very great. The Empress has also pre-
sented a golden bracelet containing her portrait in re-
lief. The reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen is also
represented by the gift of a bracelet set with a
beautiful sapphire. Two other bracelets, one of
which is adorned with a pair of very costly emeralds,
are from the bridegroom, the Hereditary Duke of
Saxe-Meiningen himself, while another bracelet with
sapphire is from the Princess Elizabeth, the bride of
the Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Then
Princess Marianne of the Netherlands has sent a
diadem; the-Grand Duchess of Baden a timepiece ;
with a stand of old porcelain; Princess Talleyrand-
Perigord a fan, Princess de Courland a flower-stand,
and Countess of Munster a beautifully ornamented
fire screen. I could go on still for a long time with
the catalogues but I have mentioned the chief pieces in
the collection. I will only mention, in conclusion,
that the city of Meiningen has presented a rich dinner
service in silver, while the ladies of that little capital
have sent several articles in silver.