Lot 250
A COMPOSITE SUITE OF PREDOMNINATLY VICTORIAN FLATWARE - PRINCE CHRISTIAN VICTOR OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN INTEREST
VARIOUS MAKER'S MARKS, LONDON
Auction: 22 September 2026 from 10:00 BST
Description
Comprising two carving sets and a knife sharpener, eight tablespoons, twelve dessert spoons, twenty table forks, seventeen dessert forks and twenty table knives, all of Queen's pattern and engraved Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein's crest and monogram to terminal (qty)
Dimensions
189oz (weighable)
Footnote
Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein (1867–1900)
The collection of flatware is believed to have been presented by Queen Victoria to her grandson, Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein (1867–1900), the eldest son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena, Queen Victoria’s third daughter.
Born at Windsor on 14 August 1867, Christian Victor grew up within the close circle of the British Royal Family. He was educated at Wellington College and later at Magdalen College, Oxford, before embarking upon a military career with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC).
A keen and accomplished sportsman, Christian Victor was particularly distinguished as a cricketer. It was through school and cricket that he formed a close friendship with Dermot Howard Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell, the present owner’s great-grandfather. The two subsequently served together in the KRRC, their shared interests and military career strengthening a friendship that endured throughout their lives.
Both men served in South Africa during the Second Boer War, where Christian Victor contracted enteric fever. He died at Pretoria on 29 October 1900, aged thirty-three. His death was widely mourned, both on account of his position within the Royal Family and his reputation as a popular and active soldier.
Following his death, it is understood that Christian Victor’s silver passed to Dermot. As Christian Victor appears to have died without leaving a will, the precise circumstances by which the silver came into Dermot’s possession remain uncertain. The close friendship between the two men, however, provides an important and compelling link in the provenance of the silver of this collection.