A teaset made to welcome Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their first trip to Scotland which prompted them to buy Balmoral will be sold at auction this month.
The Worcester porcelain breakfast and tea service were made to welcome Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their first visit to Scotland in 1842, and will be sold by auction house Lyon & Turnbull, in Edinburgh on May 18.
The historic teaset is made up of more than 280 pieces, each painted with sprigs of heather and the family coronet.
The Breadalbane heather service set is expected to gather bids from auctioneers of up to £3,000.
The set was part of a massive upgrading project at Taymouth Castle, Perth and Kinross ahead of the royal visit on September 7 - 10, 1842.
John Campbell, 6th Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, hired the finest craftsmen of the era for the preparation of the visit.
He commissioned the Worcester porcelain factory to add numerous pieces for the family's dinner service.
During the royal visit, meals were provided for more than 700 people each day.
Silver crockery was used to serve lunch and dinner, while the Breadalbane porcelain service was used to serve breakfast and refreshments.
The trip started the queen’s love affair with the Scottish Highlands and prompted the purchase of Balmoral in 1852.
Victoria enjoyed Breadalbane’s tartan-clad ‘Scottish’ experience - and even commented in her journal: "It seemed as if a great chieftain in olden feudal times was receiving his sovereign”.
The Campbell Earls of Breadalbane & Holland were in tenure at Taymouth Castle, from the early 18th century until the family sold up and left in 1922, and this is when their power, wealth, and influence were at their peak.
The teaset is among 43 pieces of property from the Earls of Breadalbane & Holland, all previous furnishings of Taymouth Castle, to be sold at auction in May.
