The object of including this beautiful modern yet rare design in a
collection of Old and Rare Tartans is that collectors may possess a
pattern greatly desired by them. Hitherto, on account of the conditions
imposed on Messrs Romanes & Paterson, Edinburgh, the manufacturers
of tartans to the Royal Family, it has been impossible, even for the
connoisseur, to procure an example of it. For the purposes of the
present work, however, Her Majesty the Queen has not only granted
permission for its publication here, but has also graciously afforded
information concerning its inception in the early years of the reign,
when the sett was designed by the Prince Consort. It has continued
to occupy a conspicuous position in the dress and appointments of
the Royal Family and its retainers, when these partake of a Highland
character. On the occasion of a Royal marriage, Her Majesty’s gifts to
the bride invariably include articles of costume of this tartan.
[Illustration: XLV. THE BALMORAL TARTAN