LONDON.- Christie’s sale on 13 December, titled Property from Descendants of Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, will provide fascinating insights into the private worlds of two of their children: His Royal Highness The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood and their families. Comprising 317 lots overall, with estimates ranging from £300 to £100,000, the sale includes a wide array of decorative arts from furniture and ceramics to objects of vertu, silver and glass, alongside clocks, books and paintings.

From the collection of Their Royal Highnesses The Dukes of Gloucester come 217 lots from their London residences and Country House, Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire; the group mainly comprises items collected by the late T.R.H. The Prince and Princess Henry, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. A further 80 lots come from The Collection of The Earls of Harewood, Harewood House, Yorkshire, one of Britain’s grandest stately homes. As well as items from H.R.H. The Princess Mary, who, as Countess of Harewood, was chatelaine of the great house from 1929, the sale includes items that have been amassed by generations of the Lascelles family, from the builder of Harewood, Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (1713-95) through to George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (1923-2011), Princess Mary’s eldest son.

Highlights include:

ROYAL OBJECTS
Giving an evocative window on Royal life during the first part of the 20th Century, highlights from The Dukes of Gloucester include a George V jewelled enamelled gold Royal presentation snuff-box, by Sebastian Garrard London, 1911/1912, made to mark the coronation of Queen Mary and George V in 1911 (estimate: £30,000-50,000); a silver cigarette-case given to H.R.H. The Prince Henry, later Duke of Gloucester by his brother The Prince Albert (later H.M. King George VI), on the occasion of his 18th birthday, inscribed 'For Harry from Bertie 31.3.18' (estimate: £300-500); and two gold-mounted hardstone desk-seals, one with cipher of H.R.H. The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (estimate: £2,000-3,000). Highlights from Harewood include: four Royal Standards of H.R.H. The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (estimate: £1,500-2,500); and a George III pearwood carving of the Royal coat-of-arms, late 18th century (estimate: £3,000-5,000).

DINING & ENTERTAINING
Providing an opportunity to recreate splendid dining with royal provenance, from The Dukes of Gloucester the sale is led by a set of 19 George III Mahogany dining chairs, circa 1775, in the manner of John Linnell (estimate: £60,000-100,000) and also includes a pair of George III silver three-light candelabra, 1807 (estimate: £10,000-15,000); and a Swedish cut and engraved-glass part-table service, early 20th century (estimate: £2,000-3,000). Further highlights from Harewood include a pair of Louis XVI ormolu and white marble candelabra, circa 1790, possibly by François Remond (estimate: £30,000-50,000).

FINE ART
Among the array of drawings, paintings and prints offered (in addition to political lots featured below), highlights from Harewood include: a Tintoretto drawing of Samson Slaying the Philistines (estimate: £20,000-30,000); a lithograph print, from Miroir de la Tauromachie by Francis Bacon (estimate: £4,000-6,000), Study of a Dancer, 1951, by John Craxton, R.A. (estimate: £5,000-8,000) and Head, 1988, by Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A., 1988 (estimate: £6,000-9,000) and from The Dukes of Gloucester a portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as William, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765), by John Wootton (estimate: £20,000-30,000).

POLITICS
One of the most valuable pieces of fine art is also a political highlight from Harewood: a Portrait of George Canning, M.P. by Thomas Lawrence (estimate: £25,000-40,000). Canning served as Tory Prime Minister from April to August 1827. Also from Harewood: a Portrait of William Pitt the Younger, with the robe of the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Studio of John Hopner (estimate: £5,000-8,000) and a group of five 19th century dispatch boxes (estimate: £2,000-3,000). Apart from the Lawrence, these objects came to The Earls of Harewood in 1916, when Viscount Lascelles – later 6th Earl of Harewood and husband of The Princess Mary – received a substantial inheritance from his relative, Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2 nd Marquess of Clanricarde, a descendant of George Canning and his family.

DESK & LIBRARY
Highlights for desk and library include, from The Dukes of Gloucester: a monogrammed 9-carat gold notebook holder and pen which belonged to H.M. Queen Mary (1867-1953) (estimate: £1,200-1,800); a George III mahogany library table, circa 1750 (estimate: £30,000-50,000); The history of the Royal Residences, London, 1819 by W.H. Pyne (estimate: £2,000-3,000); and a Victorian silver inkstand, mark of Martin, Hall & Co., London, 1892, with the crest of the Duke of Gloucester (estimate: £400-600). From Harewood lots include a pair of Regency painted klismos chairs, circa 1810 (estimate: £15,000-25,000).

H.R.H. PRINCESS ALICE
The late Duchess of Gloucester (1901-2004) – known as H.R.H. Princess Alice following the Duke’s death in 1974 – went on to be the longest-lived member of the Royal Family. The Princess was a keen needlewoman and a highlight of the sale is a set of four 18th century cockpen armchairs, received as a wedding present in 1935, the seats of which Princess Alice embroidered over many years, one of the chairs has been signed and dated in the stitching ‘Alice 1937’ (offered as two pairs, estimate: £5,000-8,000 respectively). Prior to her marriage the then Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott travelled to Kenya, a world away from her native Scotland, a world she recorded with the aid of her trusty Kodak camera. The camera, embossed 'ALICE SCOTT', along with its leather case as part of a collection of early-mid 20th century leather mounted objects which also include the late Duke’s binoculars (estimate: £300-500).

OPERA
The 7th Earl of Harewood (1923-2011), son of Princess Mary, was passionate about opera, having served as editor of Opera magazine, Director of The Edinburgh Festival, Director of the Royal Opera House and Managing Director of the English National Opera as well as being editor and co-author of Kobbé’s Complete Opera Book. A small collection of works in the sale represent this lifelong interest, including: a Set Design for Don Giovanni and Drop Curtain, Loxford, both by John Piper (estimates £12,000-18,000 and £10,000-15,000 respectively); a Charity Opera Factory, 1993, by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (estimate: £1,200-1,800); and two Soviet porcelain figures of Feodor Chaliapin as Boris Godunov and a figure of Sadko (estimate: £1,500-2,500).

THE NURSERY
Step back into childhood with some perfectly timed Christmas presents for children. The collection from The Dukes of Gloucester contains a number of children’s books including first editions by A.A Milne such as Winnie the Pooh (estimate: £4,000-6,000) and The House at Pooh Corner (estimate: £1,500-2,500), as well as a doll's house dating to the second half 20th century (estimate: £400-600).