A REMARKABLE reminder of the enduring friendship between the last Empress of Russia and the owner of a North Yorkshire boarding house is about to go under the hammer.

In 1894 Princess Alix of Hesse, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, stayed at Cathcart House, a boarding house in Harrogate then owned by a Mrs Allen.

The princess travelled to Harrogate, under the name of Baroness Startenburg, to take “the cure’”in the town’s famous baths as a treatment for her sciatica.

It was while the princess was staying there that Mrs Allen gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy.

The princess took their arrival as a good omen for her forthcoming marriage to the then-Grand Duke Nicholas – soon to become Tsar – and she asked to be godmother to the twins and that they be named Alix and Nicholas.

Afterwards she maintained a close relationship with her godchildren and regularly sent them gifts.

Princess Alix, who became the Tsarina Alexandra, was murdered along with her family by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.

And now one of those gifts, a fabulous boxed set of Fabergé cutlery, is to be sold, on March 2, at Bulstrodes, the auction house in Christchurch, Dorset.

Delighted auctioneer Kate Howe recalled her surprise when the set turned up during an ordinary valuation day.

“Amongst all the tea sets and framed prints was this beautiful object – and we couldn’t quite believe what we were seeing,” she said.

Two identical boxed sets were sent to the Allen twins as a first birthday present and the box being sold is the one sent to young Alix.

The set of champlevé-enamelled cutlery was stored in a bank for many years - and as a result is still in immaculate condition.

Also in the sale is a family scrapbook containing many fascinating letters and news clippings of the time documenting the Russian Royal connection to the Allen family and Cathcart House.

The book includes two hand-written letters signed by Carl Fabergé, telegrams from Queen Alexandra to Princess Victoria who also stayed at Cathcart House at the time and other fascinating documents.

Interest in the set is expected to be high and the auction house estimate is between £8,000 and £10,000.