Gifts fit for a prince

How to hallmark the big day? Stephen Doig takes a look at wedding gifts fit for royalty

A cologne, made bespoke, is a considered option in lieu of cufflinks

We’re not sure if you’re aware, but there’s a distant (and persistent) chime of wedding bells across our green and pleasant land at the moment. If you reached Peak Royal Wedding a while back, look away now. But if you might indulge this column, normal service resumes next week.

President Macron has earmarked a James Bond themed gift set of pen and lighter for Harry and Meghan’s nuptials, from historic French house ST Dupont, which has a long history of royal gift giving; racy perhaps, but well-suited to former wild child Harry. When it comes to gifts at a wedding, there are some tried and tested traditions; a tie for the ushers, an engraved hip flask for the best man; and from the bride to her beloved, perhaps a watch or cufflinks.

Which is as good a template to follow as any, but men are increasingly aware of style and what suits them. The men’s style industry is one of the fastest growing, ditto the arena of men’s grooming, another boom sector; a cologne is a considered option in lieu of cufflinks, particularly if it can be made bespoke.

Added to this is the fact that men can tend to have difficulty buying gifts for one another, and that the definition of a wedding and a marriage has shifted dramatically in the 21st century; what do two grooms buy one another, for example? The choices don’t always have to follow the normal suit; one groom I know who married in coastal Italy opted for Riviera-ready suede driving shoes for his best men, embossed with their initials, and while an engraved hip flask never goes amiss, something like this leather binoculars case (which actually reveals a mobile cocktail set) hints at good times to be had even after a fellow has settled down into married life. Harry might find good use for it around the Balmoral estate this summer.