A rare chocolate bar made to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 is set to auction for hundreds of pounds. This 122-year-old confectionery, produced by Rowntree's, comes in a tin decorated with portraits of King Edward and Queen Alexandra of Denmark.
The original owner demonstrated remarkable restraint by not consuming it, with only a few similar vintage chocolate bars known to exist today.
The chocolate remains wrapped in silver paper, although tasting it is not recommended. Auctioneers Auctioneum Ltd in Bath have valued the bar at £200, highlighting that sweets and chocolate were still a relative novelty at the turn of the 20th century.
“It’s quite remarkable that this chocolate has remained uneaten for so long, especially since it was considered a real treat back then. Resisting such a temptation must have been quite a challenge,” the auction house quipped.
Despite its age, the chocolate bar is said to be in good condition. Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria, ascended to the throne in 1901 after his mother’s death and ruled for just nine years until his passing at 68 due to health issues linked to smoking.
During his reign, Edward was known as a Francophile, frequently visiting Paris and enjoying local cuisine, cabarets, and courtesans. His pro-French stance helped pave the way for the 1904 Entente, solidifying the Anglo-French alliance a decade before World War I.
Interestingly, the great-granddaughter of Edward’s last mistress, Alice Keppel, later became the companion and then wife of the Prince of Wales—Camilla Parker Bowles, the second wife of King Charles III. Officially, Edward VII acknowledged no children except those born in marriage to Alexandra, with the couple having six children, five of whom survived.