George VI, Coronation, 1937, a cast bronze plaque by an uncertain artist, conjoined crowned busts of George and Elizabeth right, rev. view of villa and garden, in remembrance of the coronation garden party given at the villa paloma by mr & mrs r.w. hudson in exergue, 130 x 70mm (W & E 7680). Very fine and very rare £80-£100

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Claremont Collection of Historical Medals.

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Robert William Hudson (1856-1937), b West Bromwich, son of Robert Spear Hudson, manufacturer of the first commercial soap powder; moved to Liverpool 1875 and took over the family business in 1884, then in 1899 commissioned Stanhope House on London’s Park lane; High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire 1903; sold the family soap business to Lever Brothers, 1908; emigrated to Monaco 1925 and purchased the Villa Coquette which, following the death of his first wife Gerda in 1932 and his marriage to an Italian heiress, Béatrice Sabina Gaudengio (†1950), was renamed the Villa Paloma. Hudson was renowned in Monaco for his generosity and, shortly before his death, created the Foundation which bears his name and which sought to promote the learning of English in the Principality. The villa now forms part of the Musée National de Monaco