
During the 1860s, Queen Victoria ordered several christening sets as gifts. She selected this group for Albert Victor Arthur Wellesley. Wellesley was a godson, and the great-nephew of the first Duke of Wellington, who after defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, received numerous dinner services as congratulatory gifts from royal figures across Europe. This christening set would have served as the child's welcome to the Protestant faith as well as to a family with a long history of celebrating the art of dining.