[xoxoxoBruce]

I forgot to check Wiki...

Princess Marie Louise had many connections in the arts and arranged for the top artists and craftsmen of the time to contribute their special abilities to the house. ~snip~ It was created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people..

OK, that means the people paid for it, not the Royals.

...and contains models of products of well-known companies of the time. It is remarkable for its detail and the detail of the objects within it, many of which are 1/12 replicas of items in Windsor Castle. These were either made by the companies themselves, or by specialist modelmakers, such as Twining Models of Northampton, England.

So if you wanted to bolster your company or product's street cred, or if you wanted to do any more business with the rich&famous, it would be a good idea to have a 1/12th model made to donate to the project. That's even better than tax deductible.

Queen Mary's purchases brought media attention to specialist furnishers such as Dorothy Rogers, who created needlework miniature carpets for the house.

And publicity about the miniature reminds people... Queen Mary bought this sham-wow, you should to.

I'm not knocking this project at all, I think it's an incredible representation of the art/craft/opulence of the time... an undisputable historic record. But I'm always amused by the methods of convincing people they are just dying to contribute to a gift for someone who could buy and sell them.