What do you give the little prince who has everything? You give him a memory. That was Prince Harry’s plan for his nephew, Prince Louis of Cambridge, as a gift for his christening.
Prince Harry attended the christening for Prince Louis Arthur Charles alongside his new wife, Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, reported Page Six . Prince Harry wanted to honor his and Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, during the happy event by giving the little prince something that would hopefully instill a lifetime of reading into his life. So Uncle Harry and Auntie Meghan bought a first edition Winnie-the -Pooh for Prince Louis to mark the occasion at the royal price tag of $10k.
Friends of the family say that bedtime stories were always a special time with Princess Diana and her boys.
“One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother. She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte, and George to enjoy as they get older.”
Princes Harry and William were always fond of English author Alan Alexander Milne (known as A.A. Milne professionally), so a book about Pooh Bear sounded like the right way to start the first-editions library.
Not being a parent yet himself, Prince Harry was initially thinking of purchasing the Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking Glass for Prince Louis.
“He originally wanted to get Lewis Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass , which was on sale for £24,000 ($31,000) but decided Winnie-the-Pooh would be more suitable for a first tome. Robinson Crusoe was William’s favorite book, but Harry loved all things, [A.A.] Milne.”
Back in 1926, there were 30,000 copies of Winnie the Pooh printed for the first edition, and so Prince Harry sought out a copy from Peter Harrington, a rare book shop in London.
Prince Harry might be trying to make up for the fact that he missed the christening of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s second child, Princess Charlotte, back in 2015, reports Express .
Prince Harry was not named as one of Prince Louis’ godparents, but Nicholas van Cutsem, a friend of both William and Harry, was named a godfather and was in attendance for the christening. His daughter, Florence van Cutsem, 3, was one of the bridesmaids at the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and his older daughter, Grace, was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.