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An intriguing link between the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate and the Russian royal family has been highlighted thanks to a new acquisition by Harrogate Museums. In 1894, Princess Alix of Hesse visited Harrogate to treat her sciatica, staying in Cathcart House, run by the Allen family, then one of Harrogate’s leading boarding houses. In a surprising move, she asked to be the godmother of the owners’ newly-born twins and proposed that the babies be named after herself and her future husband, Russia’s Czar Nicholas II.The following year, the Czarina sent Alix and Nicholas Allen each an exquisite cutlery set (comprising fork, spoon, knife, napkin ring and salt cellar) made by enameller Ivan Saltikov for the Grachev Brothers, who were silversmiths to the Czar. The set given to Alix was part of Harrogate Museums’ purchase, as was a scrapbook containing an assortment ofrelated letters and news clippings. The Czarina continued to send gifts to the twins until her tragic death in 1918, while a miniature painting of Cathcart House was among the personally significant locations chosen to sit within an Easter egg by Carl Fabergé, presented to her by her husband in 1896. Fork from the cutlery set, now on display at the Royal Pump Room Museum, Harrogate. harrogate.gov.ukFROM RUSSIA WITH LOVETHE STORY OF TWO YORKSHIRE BABIES AND THEIR GIFTS FROM A CZARINAIMAGE: COURTESY OF BULSTRODES AUCTIONSThe Arts Society ReviewSummer 201774NATIONAL TREASURE