The object of including this beautiful modern yet rare design in a collection of Old and Rare Tartans is that collectors may possess a pattern greatly desired by them. Hitherto, on account of the conditions imposed on Messrs Romanes & Paterson, Edinburgh, the manufacturers of tartans to the Royal Family, it has been impossible, even for the connoisseur, to procure an example of it. For the purposes of the present work, however, Her Majesty the Queen has not only granted permission for its publication here, but has also graciously afforded information concerning its inception in the early years of the reign, when the sett was designed by the Prince Consort. It has continued to occupy a conspicuous position in the dress and appointments of the Royal Family and its retainers, when these partake of a Highland character. On the occasion of a Royal marriage, Her Majesty’s gifts to the bride invariably include articles of costume of this tartan.
XLV. THE BALMORAL TARTAN
DESIGNED BY H.R.H. THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT