A rare wedding photo of King George V and Queen Mary which was signed by the newlyweds is up for grabs for £1,500.
The historic snap was taken after the Royal couple wed at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London on July 6, 1893.
King George, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, and Mary signed underneath the black and white photo, which was taken by the official Royal photographers W & D Downey.
The 8” by 6” image is going under the hammer 127 years later at auctioneers William George of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
The historic snap was taken and signed after the Royal couple wed at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London on July 6, 1893
It was signed by both King George V and Queen Mary following the wedding in central London
Princess Mary of Teck, of the kingdom of Wurttemberg, Germany, was meant to have married Prince Albert, George’s older brother and heir to the throne, but he died of pneumonia in 1892.
After a period of mourning, Mary got engaged to George as Queen Victoria favoured her as a bride to one of her grandsons.
The photograph of the couple (pictured) was taken by the official Royal photographers W & D Downey
She supposedly said of Mary that she was ‘quiet’, ‘reserved’ and had ‘good manners’ – and also ‘the reverse of superficial’.
The wedding, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first to take place in St James’s Chapel since the death of Victoria’s husband Prince Albert in 1861.
Large crowds lined the route from Buckingham Palace to St James’s Palace to cheer them on as they were driven in a carriage procession.
Upon their return to Buckingham Palace, the newlyweds were joined on the balcony by Victoria in a rare public appearance.
The photo shows them surrounded by their 10 bridesmaids, including George’s sisters Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales.
It is thought to have been given to a member of the Royal family after the wedding but has since passed into the hands of a private collector.
The photo shows them surrounded by their 10 bridesmaids, including George’s sisters Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales
A William George spokesman said: ‘It is a matter of protocol that Royals sign a photograph on their wedding day which they then give as a gift to close members of the family – usually other Royals. This continues to this day.
‘It is very rare to find a photograph of this era, relatively early in the development of photography, which is dated.’
The other bridesmaids were Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Alexandria of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, Princess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria of Battenberg and Princess Patricia of Connaught.
William Downey, originally from Newcastle, took photos of Queen Victoria at Balmoral and Frogmore in the 1860s.
He moved to London in 1872 and the studio was granted the Royal Warrant seven years later.
The other bridesmaids were Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Alexandria of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, Princess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria of Battenberg and Princess Patricia of Connaught
King George V ascended to the throne in 1910 following the passing of his father Edward VII.
In 1917 he renamed the House of Saxe-Coburg to the House of Windsor as a result of anti-German public feeling at the time.
He reigned until his death in 1936 when he was succeeded by King Edward VIII who abdicated less than a year later.
The sale takes place on April 23.