A lifetime ago, Prince Harry gifted his youngest nephew, Prince Louis, a first-edition copy of Winnie the Pooh worth £8,000 (so just over $10,000) for his 2018 christening, The Sun reports, but it’s “unlikely he’ll have read it yet,” the outlet reports.
And no, it’s not because of the brother-on-brother feud that has reached fever pitch in the six years since—it’s because Louis’ parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are afraid that Louis might damage it somehow (hey, he is five, after all).
“One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother,” a friend said. “She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, [Princess] Charlotte, and [Prince] George to enjoy as they get older. He originally wanted to get Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, which was on sale for £24,000, but decided Winnie the Pooh would be more suitable for a first tome.”
Harry is understood to have bought the 1926 book written by A.A. Milne—of which 30,000 were printed in the first run—from Peter Harrington in London. “Robinson Crusoe was William’s favorite book, but Harry loved all things A.A. Milne,” they said.
Royal expert Phil Dampier said it’s unlikely that Louis would be left to his own devices with the classic fiction book. “It was lovely of Harry to give this precious book to Louis but I expect he has also got a cheaper version so he can read it properly,” he said. “William and Kate wouldn’t want him thumbing his way through the expensive copy and ruining it by damaging some pages. It will only increase in value, so they would want to keep it in good condition as a family heirloom.”
Dampier added that Harry has a close bond with his niece and nephews and will “regret” not being close to them growing up geographically: “It just highlights how tragic it is that the royal cousins are on different sides of the Atlantic and not having a relationship,” he said. “And that [Prince] Archie and [Princess] Lilibet are not being seen by the royal family, and Harry and Meghan aren’t seeing Louis, George, and Charlotte. I’m sure that is a matter of deep regret for Harry, and he would like to have a relationship with them, whatever his problems with the grownups. He has always loved kids and he must feel he is missing out on family occasions big time.”
And Louis isn’t the only one getting top notch gifts like this from Uncle Harry, Dampier said. “I’m told he has also given some lovely presents over the years to George and Charlotte, but I’m not sure what they are,” he said. “He keeps in contact with all the children, and they will miss not having him as an uncle.” (Well, he’ll always be their uncle, but maybe a close in proximity uncle is more like it.)
The year after Louis’ christening, Harry and Meghan welcomed Archie in 2019, followed by Lilibet in 2021—who, we’d venture to guess, also likely have a fantastic book collection of their own.
