Peaches for the Princess

Quick question: What gift would you give to a princess on her wedding day?

In 1947, the people of St. Catharines had to figure out this very problem for the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Philip. Fortunately, Elizabeth set some guidelines. She would not except any expensive gifts. Rather, all tributes to the marriage should be donations to the needy people of Great Britain.

So what item would make a worthwhile contribution that represented the City of St. Catharines and the surrounding area? Peaches of course. St. Catharines sent 200 cases of canned peaches to England. That was 4800 cans totaling 96000 fluid ounces. It was thought that the people of Great Britain would enjoy this delicacy after the long years of food shortages and rationing due to World War II.

This image is the label that was placed on every can. In the top left corner, you can read, "A Wedding Gift to H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth for the British People from the Citizens of St. Catharines, Ontario - Canada's Garden City."

This label and the correspondence about this gift can be found in the Office of the City Clerk of St. Catharines collection in the Brock University Archives - https://tinyurl.com/yab67uxy.