With royal fever spiking as the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton nears, Mainers don’t need to travel to London to catch a glimpse of regal ephemera and jewels.

This weekend, Columbary House Antiques in Cape Neddick invites the public to view an assortment of items consigned by a prominent family relating to the coronation of England’s Queen Elizabeth II and the wedding of Monaco’s Prince Rainer III and Grace Kelly.

One of the highlights of the collection is a home movie of the 1953 coronation, which will be shown throughout the weekend.

“They bought box seats and sat in section A, row A, directly opposite the entrance to Westminster Abbey,” said Donald Poland, who co-owns Columbary House with Jack Carew.

The home movie was shot by Ian H. Van Gelder, who was a consul for Prince Rainier, and his wife, Barbara Louise Van Gelder, whose granddaughter now lives in Maine and put the items up for sale.

In addition to recording the coronation itself, the couple also filmed various London sites in the days leading up to the big event.

“One of my all-time favorite moments (in the film) is this scene of two guys up on the huge statues in front of Buckingham Palace cleaning them,” Poland said.

The three one-of-a-kind reels of coronation footage are being paired with the tickets to the event and an official souvenir film of the ceremony.

“The combination of the two movies has the magical sense of making you think you were there,” Poland said.
Because of their position within the palace of Monaco, the Van Gelders also attended the many festivities surrounding the 1956 wedding of Prince Rainier III to American film star Grace Kelly.

The collection of ephemera on view and for sale includes invitations to the wedding events, a hand-written note signed by Kelly and an invitation to the baptism of Prince Albert II, the current sovereign Prince of Monaco who will wed Charlene Wittstock this July.

Those interested in purchasing either the lot of coronation items or the lot of Monaco items can make an offer at the antique shop.
“You can leave an offer and there’s a form to fill out with a box to check if you want to be kept appraised of the highest price,” Poland said. “We’re in communication with people already who’ve shown interest.”

At 5 p.m. July 17, the Columbary House will sell both sets of items to the person who makes the highest offer.

Entrance to this weekend’s special viewings is free, but guests will be encouraged to make a donation to the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce to support the Artfest and Antiquefest events this fall.

Royal watchers who prefer the glitter of gems will want to be sure to pay a visit to Cross Jewelers in Portland. The store is currently showing a sapphire and diamond ring inspired by the famous engagement ring worn by the late Princess Diana and now adorning Middleton’s left hand.

At the center of the ring is a 5.73-carat cushion-cut sapphire, which is surrounded by 14 diamonds.

“We’ve owned this sapphire for quite some time,” said Karen Pride, who is a member of the family that owns Cross Jewelers. “When William proposed to Catherine, we sat down the next morning and I said, ‘I know what we should do with that sapphire.’ The ring sets low on the hand, so it’s quite wearable. You can see it on display in the case, and many women have tried it on.”

While you’re at the showroom, be sure to enter the raffle to win one of five tiaras. The store will draw names on April 27 and give them away, just in time for five lucky women to wear them while watching the April 29 nuptials of William and Kate.
And should you want to purchase the ring, let’s hope you have a princely bank account. The price tag: $45,000.

Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at:
akamila@pressherald.com

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