Royal Gift to Troops in 1914

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The Princess Mary Brass Box

By Megan McKinney

The Princess Mary Brass Box was a royal gift distributed to members of the armed forces of the British Empire in 1914 to celebrate the first Christmas of World War I.

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Princess Mary of England

rd.born

King George V and Queen Mary

The Princess was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.

Above is Mary with her five brothers. Albert, who would become George VI and father of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, top left. The future Edward XIII, later Duke of Windsor, is at top right. Standing in front are from left, Prince John, Prince Henry and Prince George.

The standard 1914 Princess Mary gift consisted of the Brass Box itself, twenty cigarettes in yellow monogrammed wrappers, a Christmas card and photographs of the Princess, the King, and the Queen. In a time when nearly everyone smoked something, there were also similar boxes containing an ounce of pipe tobacco and a pipe,

Another possible item—especially for non-smokers—was the bullet pencil.

The bullet pencil consisted of a silver tipped pencil (either sterling silver or nickel silver) in a case made from a spent .303 cartridge recovered from a UK firing range.

Above is a closer look at the photograph of the Princess that appeared in all of the gift boxes.

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Would you like your own 1914 souvenir from the Princess? You will find it in one of the many street markets that pop up from time to time around London.