The Gretna Green register is expected to fetch several thousand pounds at auction later this year.

The 436-page book contains details of about 1,100 weddings which took place between 1825 and 1855 in the Scottish town, which has become famous as a destination for eloping couples.

The register includes the marriage of Prince Carlo Ferdinando Borborne, the son of the King of Naples, to Penelope Smythe, on 7 May, 1846.

It is a great antique and very interesting and is a wonderful link to the past here

Gordon Forbes, Gretna Green

The register recorded that it was the prince's third marriage in less than six months.

The controversial marriage of Edward Wakefield is also included.

He married Ellen Turner, who was just 16 and an heiress from Chester.

The couple ran off to Gretna but were forced to part after Mr Wakefield was arrested in France and the marriage was later annulled in parliament.

Staff at Gretna Green said the book was a copy of the main register kept by John Linton, the former proprietor who owned Gretna Hall where the marriages took place.

Gordon Forbes, an acting blacksmith at Gretna Green, said: "He was meticulous about what entries were made.

Marriage Act

"This really is an excellent find. We are all glad to hear that it has turned up.

"It is a great antique and very interesting and is a wonderful link to the past here."

The register was discovered by a man living in Australia who believes that one of his ancestors bought it at an auction in London in 1912.

An estimated 1,000 marriages take place at Gretna Green each year.

The town became a destination for young lovers after the Marriage Act was passed in 1754 in England, which outlawed marriages without parental consent if either party was under 21.

Couples travelled over the border to Scotland which had more lenient laws.