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The secret of royal beauty? Cold cream and nerve tonic

The earliest royal prescription book from 1902 has gone on public display for the first time at John Bell & Croyden

The earliest royal prescription book from 1902 has gone on public display for the first time at John Bell & Croyden
The earliest royal prescription book from 1902 has gone on public display for the first time at John Bell & Croyden Credit: Photo: John Bell & Croyden

The details of beauty products and medicines used by the Royal family were once guarded under lock and key, away from prying eyes.

But now the skincare secrets of the former King and Queen of England can be revealed as the royal pharmacy reopens with an exhibition showing the earliest Royal Household Prescription Book.

The leather-bound book details all the orders and deliveries of the Royal household from 1902 to 1905, when King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark were on the throne.

The book, which is on public display at John Bell & Croyden in London for the first time, reveals that on May 29, 1903, a jar of cold cream and Coraline toothpaste was delivered to Princess Victoria at Buckingham Palace.

The leather-bound book details deliveries to the Royal household from 1902 to 1905, when King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark were on the throne.

The following day, the Duchess of Connaught had a bottle of nerve tonic sent to Clarence House and the Duchess of Fife sent for a sponge and some eye lotion.

On June 2, 1903, Queen Alexandra had a delivery of “riding pills” sent to Windsor Castle with another delivery two days later.

Foreign dignitaries also sent for medicine from John Bell & Croyden.

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Jamie Russell, a spokesman for John Bell & Croyden, said that during Queen Victoria’s reign, the Royal Household Prescription Book would have been held in the store in a secret, protected area.

Richard E. Grant attends as Royal Pharmacist John Bell & Croyden re-opens its Wigmore Street store as London's finest health, wellbeing and beauty emporium.

“When an envoy for the Royal family came, the book would be fetched. It is much more grand than the prescription book for ordinary members of the public. The medicine would be personally delivered to the Royal household by a messenger in a horse and carriage.”

The pharmacy also boasts the only sample and recipe for the Anointing Oil used in the crowning of the Sovereign – an oil containing orange, roses, cinnamon, musk, and ambergris.