A JEWELLED Faberge cutlery set given by the last Empress of Russia to the child of a North Yorkshire hotel owner has been acquired by a museum in the county.

The precious artefact, along with a scrapbook of letters and photographs from the Russian royal family, provides a fascinating insight into their connection with the spa town of Harrogate.

It was a gift from Princess Alix of Hesse, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and future wife of Tsar Nicholas II, the last ruler of the Russian Empire.

She visited Harrogate in 1894 to take in the spa waters and undergo a cure for sciatica. She stayed at Cathcart House, on Prospect Place in Harrogate, which was run by the Allen family.

On discovering Mrs Allen had recently given birth to twins, the princess asked to be their godmother and proposed the children be named after her and her husband-to-be.

The cutlery set, made by Imperial Russian jewellers, Grachev, is still in its original presentation box and was given to the female twin, Alix Allen, after the Russian Tsarina became Empress of Russia. It bears the inscription ‘Presented to Alix Beatrice Emma Allen by her Godmother Her Imperial Majesty the Czarina of Russia, 21st May 1895’.

The items have been acquired by Harrogate Museums, along with letters, photographs and news clippings from the Russian princess’s visit.

Included is a letter from Russian jeweller Carl Faberge, requesting photographs of the Harrogate hotel to be used in the design of an Imperial Easter Egg.

The items were bought with the support of the Friends of Harrogate District Museums, the Friends of the Mercer Art Gallery, the Arts Council of England/V&A Purchase Fund and the Art Fund.

The story of Princess Alix’s stay at Cathcart House is currently told in the Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate, and is illustrated by objects donated by the son of Nicholas Allen, the male twin. The acquisitions provide an insight into Alix Allen’s part in the story.

Jane Sellars, a curator at Harrogate Museums, said: “The extra depth of detail they bring to Harrogate’s history is both an important and exciting prospect.”