Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, a crested leather frame 1897

The small, 3¼ x 2¼ ins, dark blue leather frame has a strut back and top arch has a bold gilt crest of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. It was made as a souvenir of the foundation of the Prince of Wales’s Hospital Fund at the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. It contains a 2/6d red stamp bought as a donation. The frame has a little wear and damage at the corners but is a scarce surviving royal curio. The stamp and its card inner frame are easily slid out should one wish to put a small portrait of the prince in it. Albert Edward was to become King Emperor Edward VII on the death of Queen Victoria.  may16/3

If the sum of 2/6d [12½ new pence today] seems a very small contribution it should be remembered that £100 in 1897 would now be worth somewhere over £13,000 today.