The Royal Baby Book: A Souvenir Album

From golden rattles and miniver-trimmed short coats to baby’s first pair of shoes, embroidered with tiny gold crowns, The Royal Baby Book tells the story of eight royal babies, from Queen Victoria to the new Prince George of Cambridge, whose birth this summer set in motion “royal baby mania” in Britain and beyond, with royal baby birthday parties, a collector’s paradise of commemorative trinkets, and crowds of well-wishers who gathered for weeks outside London’s St. Mary’s Hospital in the hopes of catching a quick glimpse of the wee ruler-to-be.

For The Royal Baby Book—the official publication marking the birth of the new heir to the British throne—the Royal Collection Trust has drawn on a wealth of previously unpublished materials from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives to offer a look into the lives of eight royal babies across almost two centuries: Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George. From infancy to the first wobbly steps and the first day at school, the book presents never-before-seen family photographs, as well as photographs of prams; tiny dresses; dolls and teddy bears; and the lost teeth, locks of hair, and little notes in childish scrawl that all parents know and treasure. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to Prince George, bringing this happy history up to the present.

With 250 illustrations and full-color photographs, The Royal Baby Book will charm and captivate anyone who has ever had a baby in their life—royal or otherwise.