“Low prices, fewer crowds and no screaming children – the off-peak adventures to discover right now - The Telegraph” plus 1 more |
| Posted: 20 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT  The new shoes have been shined, the book bags packed, the 'first day' photos posted dutifully to Facebook: school's definitively in for autumn. Which means big kids can rejoice! Because, from now until Christmas – with a brief late-October busy-blip for half-term – all those theme parks, beach retreats, activity havens and wild places that have shouted and screamed FAMILY FUN! all summer have emptied out at the turn of a calendar page. All those places that the sane of mind wouldn't touch with a barge pole during the holidays unless they absolutely had to, are back on the possibility radar for good grown-up getaways. The world belongs to the adults once more. For instance, according to the uber-geeky Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar (touringplans.com), September and October are by far the quietest months to hit the Florida theme-park scene. This also happens to be ideal for enacting any long standing Han Solo fantasies on the new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge ride, which opened August 29. But it's not only about Disney, Universal, Alton Towers and the like. Now the youngsters are out of the picture, you can tackle tree-top zip wires, river rafts, surf lessons and horse rides without either the judging eye-rolls or the ear-piercing tantrums of darling kiddy-winks. You can find beaches that aren't wall-to-wall towels and inflatables – but that are still warm enough for autumn dips and snorkels; the Med, for example, holds its heat well into October.  And you can find deals and low prices as businesses try to fill the family-size gaps. But the practicalities aside, we NEED this – a bit of light, joyous relief as the world seems to become ever more worrisome. Now is the time to embrace your inner child and seek out family-style fun minus the families. Gallop off on that horse, book that holiday cottage that looks like a castle, ride that coaster until you're sick. Here are some of the best ways to escape reality, for a week or two at least… Be a big-kid buccaneer, Cayman Islands, CaribbeanStep aside, tiny swashbucklers! The Caymans Islands' annual Pirates Week (Cayman Brac Nov 1-3, Grand Cayman Nov 7-11, Little Cayman Nov 15-17; piratesweekfestival.com) falls outside the UK school holidays, but promises plenty of high-seas hijinks. Watch mock raids, pirate parades, fireworks, cardboard boat regattas, steel pan and street dance. There are also runs, parties and food festivals, while divers can follow underwater treasure hunts. It's also the start of the Caribbean's best weather but before Christmas high season, so prices are cheapARRRRR! A seven-night stay at Sunshine Suites Resort with BA costs from £1,270pp, including flights and B&B accommodation. Departs November (0344 493 0125; ba.com).  Camp kid-free, Lake DistrictLow Wray campsite, right on Lake Windermere, offers easy access to all sorts of big-kid adventures in the UK's most popular – but now less crowded – national park. Sleep in a bauble-like tree tent (new for 2019). Hire bikes to try the site's new cycle tracks, rent a canoe, kayak or SUP. Then do a National Trust tour: get crafty in the art room at Allan Bank, roam the turrets of Wray Castle and get in a chunk of childhood nostalgia at Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's former home. Tree tents cost from £100pn (sleeps three). Open until November 3 (015394 32733; ntlakescampsites.co.uk; nationaltrust.org.uk). Make a splash, Tenerife, SpainIn 2019 Siam Park won Trip Advisor's World's Best Waterpark award – for the sixth year running. It'll still be warm enough in autumn, but you won't have to share the dizzying assortment of lazy rivers, wave pools, flume plummets and water coasters with a bunch of kids. The top ride? Perhaps the Tower of Power, a transparent freefall plunge through an aquarium of sharks… Combine this with a grown-up stay away from the resorts, such as La Bodega Casa Rural, a converted wine cellar in the hills. Siam Park entry costs €38pp (siampark.net). La Bodega Casa Rural costs from €85pn (0117 204 7810; sawdays.co.uk).  Have a wizard time, Florida, USABetter deals, lighter crowds, fabulous weather – and more theme parks than you can shake a wand at: Orlando is THE place for playful grown-ups right now. Universal offers a more adult vibe than Disney; the resort's Cabana Bay offers 1950s-retro fun. From here, you can access your pick of parks: maybe the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to ride the new Hagrid-inspired coaster, Epcot for the fall Food & Wine Festival or Disney for Character Couture, new adult makeovers inspired by Cinderella and co. A seven-night stay at Universal's Cabana Bay with Thomas Cook costs from £586pp including flights and accommodation. Departs September-October (01733 224808; thomascook.com). Reclaim the coast, CornwallCornwall's magnificent shores are all the better now the kids have cleared off. Head to Marazion's Godolphin Arms to laze on the golden sands outside and to gaze across to St Michael's Mount – exploring the fairytale tidal isle is far quieter outside peak season. The sheltered waters around here also make it a super place to try an SUP. Join a taster session to glide over the seagrass, looking out for seals and investigating the Mount from multiple angles. A two-night Get Active, Stay Active break at the Godolphin Arms costs from £395 for two, including most meals, SUP lesson and Mount visit. Departs September (01736 888510; godolphinarms.co.uk).  Learn to ride, Mallorca, SpainHit the hot holiday isle when school's in, the sun's out and you can learn the unbridled joy of riding a horse without being judged by precocious young cowboys and cowgirls. Join a group of no more than six novices at a characterful old farmhouse to learn to walk, trot, canter – maybe even gallop – in the rural Mallorcan countryside, as well as picking up the basics of horse care, grooming and handling, and feasting on Mediterranean treats. An eight-day Horse-riding Holiday with GoLearnTo costs from £951pp including full-board accommodation, excludes flights. Departs September-November (0208 1445990; golearnto.com). Walk on the wild side, South AfricaSouth Africa is the top choice for sub-Saharan roaming families, thanks to its infrastructure, diversity and malaria-free safaris. But the back-to-school months are arguably the best time to visit, especially for the Garden Route: whale numbers peak, vegetation is low, making animals easier to spot, and it's better-value shoulder season in Cape Town. Journey between the cosmopolitan city and Port Elizabeth, taking in vineyards, beaches, penguins, the landscapes of the Little Karoo and Addo National Park's Big 5. A 14-day escorted Cape Town & the Garden Route trip with Exodus costs from £2,339pp including flights and B&B accommodation. Departs September-November (02031 312785; exodus.co.uk).  Hit the emptier road, California, USADrive a quieter Pacific Coast Highway – one of the world's greatest drives – this autumn. Explore San Francisco in its least foggy months, enjoy Monterey and Santa Barbara in glorious weather, and arrive in LA to be creeped out without the kids at Universal Studios. Every autumn the park hosts Halloween Horror Nights, complete with gory scare zones, spooky Stranger Things maze and the Killer Klownes from Outer Space. Over 13s only. A nine-night California fly-drive with Bon Voyage costs from £1,625pp including flights, car hire, accommodation and Universal Studios pass. Departs September-November (0800 316 0194; bon-voyage.co.uk). Mess about on boats, FranceLanguedoc's much-loved Canal du Midi, and the attractions en route, are far less crowded come term time. Boat rentals are also far cheaper, making it even more appealing to pilot your own cruiser between the fairytale ramparts of Carcassonne (and nearby Lake Cavayère, for swimming and tree-top swinging), harvest-ready vineyards, the Roman city of Narbonne and the beaches of Cap d'Agde. Hire bikes for towpath cycles too. A seven-night Canal du Midi trip with Le Boat costs from £750 (for a four-person boat), excludes flights and fuel. Bike hire costs £42pp. Departs until November (023 9280 9124; leboat.co.uk).  Frolic in the forest, GloucestershireNestle into a log cabin in the Forest of Dean, enjoying both the child-free tree-scape and a private hot tub. Forest Holidays' retreats also have easy access to woodland trails and night-time wildlife rambles with onsite rangers (with no impatient kids spoiling the spotting). Nearby, be transported back to your own childhood at mossy and magical Puzzlewood – dare yourself on treetop high-wires and take to the quieter waters of the Wye by canoe, paddling along golden autumnal banks. A four-night stay in a four-person cabin with Forest Holidays costs from £495 (03330 110495; forestholidays.co.uk). Half-day canoe hire from £40 (01600 890238; wyedean.co.uk). Go all-in, GreeceThe all-included activity haven that is the Paleros Beach Resort assumes a more adult ambience in autumn. It's less busy, so there's more space, and more available tuition time in which to perfect your newfound skills; tennis, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and yoga. The resort sits on a serenely sheltered Ionian bay, which is especially good for learning to wake-board and SUP. Or pedal into the surrounding hills on guided bike rides. A five-night stay at Paleros Beach Resort with Mark Warner costs from £499pp including flights, half-board accommodation and most activities. Departs September-October (033 3920 8745; markwarner.co.uk).  Find parks without people, USAAfter Labour Day (early September), the USA's national parks transform: visitation plummets, roads clear, animals reemerge. It's a great time to tick off iconic wild spaces when they feel just that – wild. From Las Vegas (home to endless big-kid fun), make of loop: hike in Zion National Park (maybe wading into the Zion Narrows), trek amid Bryce Canyon's fantastical hoodoos, hit the backroads of Monument Valley with a Navajo guide and watch the sunset on a more peaceful Grand Canyon. An eight-day escorted Canyons and Indian Lands trip with Grand American Adventures costs from £1,440pp including accommodation, excludes flights. Departs September-October (0333 003 8245; grandamericanadventures.com). Play along the Pacific, New South Wales, AustraliaSydney is cool for kids. But now it's a playground for adults, with quieter beaches and attractions – not least the vintage Luna Park funfair (with its new 65km/h flying carousel) and acclaimed Taronga Zoo (where the Wildlife Retreat, new from October 2019, means you can sleep on site). From the city, drive north to Brisbane, stopping off for over-18s fun in the Hunter Valley wineries, dolphin spotting at Port Stephens and the surf of Byron Bay. A ten-night Legendary Pacific Coastline fly-drive with Kuoni costs from £2,740pp including flights, B&B accommodation and car hire. Departures tailormade (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk).  Get multi-active in the Med, TurkeyCoastal Turkey is a favourit among adventurous families but there's plenty of hijinks for adults too. Take a trip that combines sea kayaking to the sunken city of Kekova, hiking to the ancient castle of Simena, paddling the Xanthos River, scanning for turtles at golden Patara Beach, cycling through the cedar-cloaked foothills of the Taurus mountains, swimming beneath the cliffs at Kaputas, sailing on a traditional gulet and restoring weary muscles at a traditional Turkish hammam. An eight-day Active Turkey trip with Explore costs from £395pp including B&B accommodation and some meals, excludes flights. Departs September-October (01252 884709; explore.co.uk). Sleep in a keep, YorkshireThe descriptor for Rufus's Roost is very clear: this rustic two-storey woodland-tucked castle is "suitable for kids of all ages". It's also cheaper outside peak season. Follow the boardwalk, through the fairy light-string trees, to reach the turreted cabin. On the veranda there's a hot tub, pizza oven and views over the edges of the North York Moors; inside are cubby-hole-cosy bedrooms, games and books, floor-to-ceiling windows and even a slide down to a secret reading den. Rufus's Roost costs from £275pn (sleeps six); 20 per cent off four-night mid-week stays until 7 October (0117 204 7830; canopyandstars.co.uk/rufusroost).  Set sail with Mickey, MexicoIf you're prepared to go with the everything-is-awesome up-ness of Disney, its cruises cater to kids big and small. Brand motifs are woven subtly into Art Deco interiors so the ships avoid feeling too twee, plus there's plenty of age-appropriate entertainment, from Broadway-calibre shows to adults-only pools, spas, nightclubs and gourmet dining. Join a San Diego-Baja trip to visit Disney's California resort before cruising to sunny Cabo San Lucas with Mickey and co. A five-night voyage from San Diego aboard Disney Wonder costs from £2,322 for two, full-board, excludes flights. Depart 9 October (0800 169 0742; disneycruiseline.co.uk). Live la pura vida, Costa RicaWith its endless array of well-set-up adventures, Costa Rica is a bit like a country-size Go Ape, with added surf and burping volcanoes. November is particularly good, after the rains but before peak season prices and crowds return. Mix rafting to a remote jungle lodge, zip-lining over treetops, tubing through canyons, kayaking and boating through biodiverse national parks, snorkelling off idyllic Pacific beaches and mountain-biking through lush forests noisy with howler monkeys. A 15-day Costa Rica trip with Last Frontiers costs from £4,700pp including flights, B&B accommodation and activities. Departs tailormade (01296 653000; lastfrontiers.com). Jump in, PembrokeshireThe Pembrokeshire coast is a natural playground: trails to follow, jaw-dropping beaches, waters in which to paddle, dip and leap. And at this time of year, this pretty protected shoreline – where the sport of coasteering was born – is wild, empty and better value: stay at one of Quality Cottages' Pembrokeshire boltholes this autumn and get a 10% discount on activities with St Davids-based TYF Adventure, including coasteering, kayaking, surfing and more. A seven-night stay at Harbourmaster's Cottage (sleeps four) with Quality Cottages costs from £488 in October (01348 837871; qualitycottages.co.uk). Half-day coasteering costs £60pp, excluding discount (01437 721611; tyf.com). Go grown-up cowboy-ing, Montana, USABy the time autumn falls, horse-loving families have trotted off into the sunset, leaving Montana's JJJ Ranch free for those who grew up watching Westerns and still dream of saddling up and waving a stetson. Take long all-day rides through epic big sky country, as well as guided hikes, trapshooting, cattle-penning, roping, archery and more. A one-week stay at JJJ Ranch with Ranch Rider costs from £1,839pp including full-board accommodation, excludes flights (01509 618811; ranchrider.com).  Romp around the tropics, ThailandThailand is entry-level Asia – exotic, but not too much. Which makes it popular with families. So better to wait until term time – or better, after the October half term, when prices and visitors drop, and the rains have stopped. Consider combining the jungly north – hill trekking around Chiang Mai, ox-cart and bike rides amid paddy fields, rafting through gorges – with bustling Bangkok and sun-lazing on Koh Phangan, the former backpacker hangout fast becoming one of Thailand's coolest beach spots. A 17-night Alternative Thailand trip with Bamboo Travel costs from £2,995pp including flights and B&B accommodation. Departures are tailormade (020 7720 9285; bambootravel.co.uk). 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| Strange Royal Wedding Gifts - Mental Floss Posted: 18 Nov 2017 12:00 AM PST Although many royal couples, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, shy away from traditional wedding gifts and instead ask for charitable donations to be made in their names, that still doesn't stop the barrage of often fairly bizarre and random non-registry gifts sent by well-wishers (royals—they're just like us!). Looking back through the history books, it seems that giving unusual wedding presents to royal newlyweds is nothing new. Below are 40 strange wedding gifts given to several happy royal couples, dating all the way back to ancient Egypt. 1. A tandem bike Dominic Lipinski, WPA Pool/Getty Images When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge—then Prince William and Kate Middleton—married in 2011, the then-Mayor of London (and current prime minister) Boris Johnson gifted the couple a tandem bike in the style of the city's then-relatively new bike-share program. "I look forward to seeing the newlyweds on tandem wheels as they start their new life in Anglesey," Johnson told a crowd in Trafalgar Square on the day. Not a bad gift for the sporty couple, but no one has seen them out riding it. 2. A cocker spaniel Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge pose for a photograph with their son, Prince George of Cambridge, and Lupo, the couple's cocker spaniel. Michael Middleton, WPA Pool/Getty Images Like Harry and Meghan, William and Kate had requested that donations be made to a charitable fund bearing their names—among the organizations they sent contributions to were the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, an anti-bullying campaign, and the Zoological Society of London. Nevertheless, Kate's brother, James, couldn't resist giving the happy couple a black cocker spaniel puppy, Lupo, who is now a beloved member of the family. 3. A Land Rover Christopher Furlong, Getty Images One physical gift that Wills and Kate received that went straight to charity was a Land Rover Defender 110 Utility Wagon. Prince William—who is the patron of the Mountain Rescue England and Wales organization—wrote the names of 50 different mountain rescue teams from across the country on slips of paper and asked Prince Harry to pick one out at random. The car was ultimately awarded to a team based in Patterdale in the English Lake District. 4. A kayak Ian Gavan, Getty Images Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and his wife Sofia Hellqvist (now Princess Sofia) are well known for their love of the outdoors, and were gifted a two-seater kayak by the Swedish government on behalf of the people of Sweden for their wedding in 2015. Naturally, they also received their very own nature reserve in Värmland, the region in which they are the Duke and Duchess, in which to try it out. 5. A tennis court ODD ANDERSEN, AFP/Getty Images When Crown Prince Frederik and Mary of Denmark wed in 2004, the Danish municipality of Sønderborg gave the couple a tennis court and pavilion at Gråsten Castle, the summer residence of the Danish royals. 6. A poem CHRIS ISON, AFP/Getty Images Tradition dictates that the British Poet Laureate pen a new poem to celebrate each royal wedding, which led Andrew Motion to write "Spring Wedding" in 2005 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (now the Duchess of Cornwall). The poem was met with mixed reviews: Given the couple's history, some thought lines mentioning "winter-wreckage" and "the heart which slips" weren't quite appropriate. 7. A giant jigsaw puzzle of the bride and groom ODD ANDERSEN, AFP/Getty Images When Felipe, Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain) married Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in 2004, the people of the Asturian capital Oviedo sent them a gigantic jigsaw puzzle depicting their portrait. It was assembled by visitors to a local shopping mall. 8. A "stop smoking" course Anthony Harvey, Getty Images When Crown Prince Haakon, heir to throne of Norway, married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Oslo in 2001, one of the gifts reportedly sent to the couple was a course on how to quit smoking, intended to curb the bride's smoking habit. 9. A private Whitney Houston concert Brunei's royal weddings have a ceremony that takes place in the Throne Chamber of the Istana Nurul Iman palace. Bernard Spragg NZ, Flickr // Public Domain When the eldest daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, Princess Rashidah, married Pengiran Anak Abdul Rahim Pengiran Kemaludin in 1996, her uncle Prince Jefri Bolkiah hired Whitney Houston to perform as a gift for the happy couple. According to some accounts, Houston was paid $1 million for the gig—but others claim the notoriously profligate Prince Jefri handed Houston a blank check and asked her to fill out whatever figure she felt she was worth: a cool $7 million. 10. A song by Elton John Rumor has it that when the UK's Prince Andrew, Duke of York, married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, Elton John wrote a song especially for the occasion. As a longtime friend of the royal family, John had also performed at Andrew's 21st birthday in 1981 and at his bachelor party. 11. One ton of peat STR/AFP/Getty Images When Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, they received a number of traditional gifts, including paintings, jewelry, a four poster bed, and an art deco Cartier clock. Charles's interest in agriculture was picked up on by a local village council in Somerset, in southwest England, who opted to send the prince one ton of high-quality peat for use on his Gloucestershire estate. 12. A "really lovely rug" Fox Photos, Hulton Archive/Getty Images When Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II's daughter, married Captain Mark Philips in 1973, the members of the British Cabinet all pitched in and bought the couple a rug. Like many office-pooled gifts, every member of the Cabinet contributed an equal share—which private papers later revealed to be just £10.53 each. The princess wrote each member a personal note thanking them "most warmly" for "a really lovely rug." When it was revealed that President Nixon and the U.S. government had sent the couple a solid crystal bowl and four gold candlesticks, Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Sir Robert Armstrong wryly commented, "This makes an old Persian rug look pretty crumby." 13. A 147-foot yacht (that you can holiday on today) AFP, Getty Images Shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis—future husband of Jackie Kennedy—gave Prince Rainier of Monaco and Princess Grace (a.k.a. Hollywood actress Grace Kelly) a 147-foot yacht, the Arion, as a wedding present in 1956. They honeymooned on it off the coast of Corsica and Sardinia; it's now a luxury floating hotel operating in the Galapagos Islands. 14. The ingredients for a wedding cake AFP, Getty Images Wartime rationing was still in place in Great Britain when Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, now Prince Philip, in 1947. To get around the food shortages, the Australian Girl Guides Association chose to gift the couple the ingredients they would need for their wedding cake. 15. A box of apples AFP, Getty Images Rationing didn't stop the British public from giving Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip presents either. In addition to a box of home-grown apples, the royal couple were also sent 500 tins of pineapple, two dozen handbags, 12 bottles of sloe gin, and 131 pairs of nylon stockings. 16. A hand-spun lace tray cover (that looked like a loin cloth) STR, AFP/Getty Images Elizabeth's wedding was just two months before 78-year-old Mahatma Gandhi's death, and the famed activist sent the couple an Indian lace tray cover that he wove himself. Reportedly, Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, thought it was a loin cloth. 17. A nationwide amnesty In the late 19th century, the Imperial Chinese government celebrated the wedding of two members of its ruling Qing Dynasty by enacting a 20-day nationwide amnesty in their honor, during which no one would be punished for any crime. On the day of the wedding itself, the entire population of the Empire was mandated to wear red and green clothing. 18. A half-ton wheel of cheese When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, one of the couple's wedding gifts was one of the largest wheels of cheese in British history. Measuring more than 9 feet across, weighing in at more than 1000 pounds, and made from the milk of 750 cows, the cheese was prepared for the occasion by villages in Somerset. And befitting the happy occasion, a cheesy song was written as well:
19. A mini chateau The funerary monuments (not the graves) of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at the Basilica of Saint Denis, France. When 15-year-old Dauphin Louis-Auguste (later Louis XVI) of France married 14-year-old Marie Antoinette in 1770, he gave her Le Petit Trianon, a three-story miniature chateau set in the grounds of the palace of Versailles, as a wedding present. "This pleasure house is yours," he reportedly told her. In the uneasy first years of their marriage, the future queen spent much of her time at Trianon, and though Louis would join her for dinner, he never spent the night there (which likely contributed to their not consummating the marriage for seven years). 20. An opera William IV, Prince of Orange, his wife, Anne of Hanover, and their children Carolina and William V. When Prince William of Orange (later William IV) married Anne of Hanover in 1734, the composer George Frederic Handel composed Parnasso in festa, a three-part Italian serenata, to mark the occasion. Handel also composed a wedding anthem for the bride; though he disliked serving as a music teacher, he had made an exception for her when she was a child, calling her a "flower of princesses." 21. A feast made entirely of sugar (and a sugar replica of the groom) Hulton Archive, Getty Images When King Henry IV of France married Marie de'Medici in 1600, he presented her with a grand Florentine banquet of fish and roast meats—at least at first glance. Turns out, the feast was made entirely from sugar. The groom perhaps took the European love of sugar a bit too far. Their ceremony was a wedding-by-proxy; in his stead, Henry sent a near life-size sugar replica of himself riding a horse. 22. A gold cup designed by Hans Holbein When Henry VIII married his third wife, Jane Seymour, in 1536 (just 11 days after Anne Boleyn was beheaded), he gave her a solid gold drinking cup designed by German Renaissance master Hans Holbein as a wedding present (Holbein was the court artist; many of the most famous portraits done of the Tudors were by Holbein). Alas, all that remains of Queen Jane's gift is a sketch of it: Charles I pawned the cup in 1625 and had it melted down four years later. 23. A book of French romances and an essay on warfare Detail of the illuminated miniature on the presentation page of the Talbot Shrewsbury Book, showing the donor, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, presenting the book as a gift to Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI. When Margaret of Anjou married Henry VI of England in 1445, John Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, who had accompanied her on her journey from Normandy to London, presented her with a book of illuminated French poems, folktales, romances, and political treatises. The Talbot Shrewsbury Book, as it's now known, also contains a complete list of statutes governing the Order of the Garter, and several lengthy treatises on warfare, husbandry, and hunting. It was likely perfect bedtime reading for the ambitious new queen of England, especially considering that she often had to rule in Henry's place. 24. Three leopards Hulton Archive, Getty Images King Henry III is credited with establishing much of the royal menagerie that used to be housed at the Tower of London. In 1235, to mark his betrothal to Eleanor of Provence, he was given three leopards (or possibly lions) to add to his collection by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II. 25. An entire town "King Solomon with his wives at table," by Anton Koburger, 1491. Hulton Archive, Getty Images According to the biblical 1st Book of Kings, when King Solomon married the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh sometime in the mid-10th century BCE, the pharaoh conquered the Canaanite town of Gezer in the Judean Mountains, massacred its people, and gifted it to his daughter as a dowry. 26. A pair of koalasWhen Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in May 2018, they requested that in lieu of gifts, friends and family donate to one of seven handpicked charities, including an HIV charity, a coastal ecology charity, and a fund for children who have lost parents in military service. That, however, didn't stop a handful of well-wishers from doing both—among them, the regional assembly of New South Wales. In addition to making a donation to a local conservation charity in their honor, premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian had two baby koalas at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney named after the couple "as a gift from the people of New South Wales." 27. A bespoke James Bond-style cigarette lighterFrench president Emmanuel Macron also broke the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's embargo on personal gifts, and presented the couple with a bespoke gift set from ST Dupont's 007 collection, including two engraved James Bond-style pens and a matching cigarette lighter. The gift had precedent, though: When the future Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip in 1947, the royal couple were gifted a Dupont travel case by then French president Vincent Auriol, and the tradition has been maintained ever since. 28. A one-ton Indian bullOf all the gifts the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received in 2018, however, perhaps the most unique was news that PETA had adopted a one-ton malnourished Indian bullock on their behalf. Named Merry (an amalgam of Harry and Meghan, of course), the bull now sees out its days in an animal sanctuary in Maharashtra. 29. A pair of solid silver kiwisWhen Princess Margaret, Elizabeth II's younger sister, married society photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, many Commonwealth countries sent wedding presents as a sign of their best wishes. Among them were two solid silver kiwis—one nestling an egg between its legs—that were presented to the couple on behalf of the people of New Zealand. In 2006, four years after Margaret's death, the models were auctioned off for charity in London; despite an early estimate of less than $1000, they eventually sold for £36,000—which would be the equivalent of more than £51,000, or about $66,000 today. 30. An empty plot of land (on a private Caribbean island)After their wedding, Princess Margaret and her new husband—now officially the Earl of Snowden—spent their honeymoon on a six-week Caribbean cruise aboard the Royal yacht Britannia. During that time, the British socialite and aristocrat Colin Tennant (whose wife, Anne Coke, was Margaret's lady-in-waiting) gifted the couple a plot of land on Mustique, the 2-square-mile private island in the Grenadines that he had purchased just two years earlier. Margaret later developed the plot into a private villa called Les Jolies Eaux—"The Beautiful Waters"—where you can now spend the week (if you have a spare $21,000). 31. Two soufflé dishesWhen Princess Mary, the Princess Royal—only daughter of George V, and Elizabeth II's aunt—married Viscount Lascelles in 1922, she gifted her husband a pair of antique soufflé dishes. Princess Mary, incidentally, put most of her collection of wedding gifts on display at Buckingham Palace, and used the proceeds the exhibition raised to purchase Foxlease Hall, the headquarters of the Girl Guide Association. 32. A seat in the royal boxWhen the Russian princess Irina Romanov married her sweetheart Felix Yusupov in February 1914, Tsar Nicholas II reportedly asked his new son-in-law what he would like as a wedding gift. Yusupov requested a seat in the Imperial box in the Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. 33. A bag of 29 uncut diamondsWhile Felix took his seat in the Tsar's box at the theater, Princess Irina was given a pouch of 29 uncut diamonds, each weighing between three and seven carats. These—plus the countless other precious stones the couple were gifted as wedding presents—helped maintain them financially during their life in exile after the Russian Revolution in 1917. 34. A diamond-encrusted fanBesides her own mini-chateau, another lavish (but slightly more practical) wedding present Marie Antoinette received from Louis XVI was a diamond-encrusted fan, presented to Marie on her wedding day along with an ornate cabinet full of jewels and gemstones. 35. A quaichWhen King James VI of Scotland married Anne of Denmark in 1589, he presented her with a traditional Scottish quaich—a type of shallow, dual-handled drinking bowl. Quaichs have been a traditional wedding gifts in Scotland ever since. 36. Five notebooks (including one that belonged to the husband's ex-wife)Henry VIII went on to marry his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, just three weeks after his fourth marriage (to Anne of Cleves) was annulled in July 1540. As a wedding gift, he presented Catherine with a set of five miniature jewel-encrusted notebooks, or "girdle-books." Unfortunately, arranging a wedding in less than a month apparently doesn't leave much for checking little things, like whether or not you and your ex-wife's initials are still embossed on the wedding present you've just given to your new spouse. Yes, one of the books in Catherine's collection had the letters "H." and "I." in black enamel on the front cover, suggesting the book had probably originally been a gift from Henry for Jane Seymour (I standing in for J in the Tudor-period alphabet). Alas, re-gifting her his dead wife's possessions wasn't even the worst thing Henry did to poor Catherine: Their marriage lasted just a little over a year, and in February 1542—on a trumped up charge of adultery with her distant cousin, Thomas Culpepper—Catherine was executed at the age of 19. 37. A small wooden chest engraved with knotted thistlesIn 2014, a fairly unassuming oak chest owned by an amateur furniture collector from Aberdeen, Scotland, was actually found to be a priceless 500-year-old royal heirloom. The chest's unusual engravings—featuring a lover's-knot made of entwined thistles—matched those in the Book of Hours of James IV of Scotland, a devotional prayer book published to mark James's marriage to Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of the Henry VII of England (and the older sister of Henry VIII). Their so-called "Thistle and the Rose" marriage in August 1503 united the Tudor and Stuart dynasties after decades of conflict, and the chest was apparently commissioned as a wedding gift to mark the occasion. 38. An orange treeAccording to legend, to celebrate the marriage of Louis XII of France to his second wife, Anne, the Duchess of Brittany, the Spanish queen Leonora of Castile gifted the couple an orange tree in 1499, which the king had planted in the gardens of his palace in Paris. The tree's fruit—thought to be an early cultivar of either blood or navel oranges—proved immensely popular, and were soon being grown and sold all across Paris and beyond. 39. A personalized book of psalms.It's fair to say that Edward II and Queen Isabella of France didn't have the easiest of marriages. After all, few healthy marriages tend to involve the husband being embroiled in romantic relationships with his male courtiers, and the wife being questionably implicated in her husband's gruesome murder. But despite those ups and downs, Edward and Isabella did at least keep up appearances by lavishing a great many expensive gifts on one another. Royal records show that Edward showered his young wife in gemstones and jewelry throughout their marriage; had her carriage fitted with extra cushions during her pregnancies; and, in return, Isabella continued to send the king gifts and letters, even after his deposition and eventual imprisonment in the 1320s. Of all the presents the couple gave each other, however, perhaps the most remarkable is an illuminated books of psalms that Edward apparently gifted Isabella on their wedding in 1308. The book, known as the Isabella Psalter, depicts the queen in various biblical and religious scenes throughout its 280 highly decorated pages. 40. The deposed Emperor of CyprusRichard the Lionheart—a.k.a. the 12th century English king Richard I—spent so much time reconquering the Holy Land, that barely six months of his 42-year reign was actually spent in England. (It's even unclear, for that matter, whether he ever found time to learn to speak English.) Richard's preoccupation with the Crusades also meant that, for their wedding day to go ahead, his young wife-to-be, Berengaria of Navarre, was compelled to meet him halfway: In 1191, she sailed from her home in northeast Spain and caught up with Richard on the island of Cyprus. There, the couple—who had never met before—were finally wed in a tiny chapel in Limassol. Before Richard continued on his Crusade, however, he had just enough time to depose the tyrannical self-styled "Emperor" of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos, and claim the island for England. According to tradition, having promised Isaac that he would not imprison him in irons, Richard had the emperor wrapped in gold and silver chains instead—and then presented him to his new queen as a rather unorthodox wedding gift. |
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