Even royal princes sometimes dream of being secret agents like James Bond. Prince Andrew, the younger brother of Charles, heir to the British throne, came closer than most children to living this dream when in 1966 - at the age of six - he was given a replica of the legendary silver DB5 that was driven by 007 in Goldfinger and Thunderball. Andrew’s toy included revolving number plates, small toy machine guns positioned behind the front headlights and a button that helped trigger clouds of smoke - to confuse pursuers. The toy was a gift from carmaker Aston Martin. This child-sized, one-seater Bond car is probably the most spectacular royal toy on view at a special exhibition in Buckingham Palace, which gives an unprecedented glimpse into how young members of the British royal family grow up.
Spanning more than 250 years, ‘Royal Childhood’ brings together a wide variety of objects, including one of the latest additions, a white rocking horse, which was a present to Prince George from US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle. A 1930 tea set, with a teapot shaped like a rabbit, shows that Queen Elizabeth II was learning to make a nice British cup of tea from the age of four.
Two years later, the young princess received an entire kitchen, replete with dining table, cupboard, cooker, washboard, clothes mangle and ironing board. These were household items a future queen would normally not be familiar with. ”Toys were always also considered tools for learning, especially in higher social circles,” comments Karin Falkenberg, head of the Nuremberg toy museum in southern Germany. ”After all, you should also know what the servants do.” Toys were often helpful in imitating the lives of grown ups, with the girls dressing up dolls in the fashions of the times. Therefore it is hardly surprising that the young princess Elizabeth’s (1936) doll Pamela wore a very similar coat to the one the future queen and her younger sister Margaret wore at the time. A delicate item is a finely decorated 1762 silver rattle, which belonged to George IV when he was a young prince. A doll’s house dating from the 1780s and based on Buckingham Palace, with its 775 rooms, was a favourite plaything of his sisters. It contains finely crafted scaled-down furniture. Just as fascinating as the glimpse into the playrooms of British princes and princesses is the palace itself. Each year the staterooms are opened to the public for eight weeks, in August and September. Previously, during these summer openings, visitors could admire the Queen’s ball gowns or a fully set table for a state banquet. On the way to the exhibition, visitors pass the throne room, where the official wedding photographs of Prince William and new bride Catherine were taken. Between chandeliers, wall tapestries and noble vases, a photo of Prince Charles and his sister Anne (she is reading) can be seen - evidence that Buckingham Palace is not only a symbol of the royal family, but also their home.
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