London:
Plaques, towels and tea bags compete for attention in shop windows at Buckingham Palace, ready for the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years.
“We ordered about three times more (memorabilia) than usual,” Sardor Zok, a seller responsible for coronation items at online souvenir retailer Cool Britannia, told AFP.
Mr Zok expects demand to rise as Charles III’s coronation approaches on Saturday.
Elsewhere, the coronation has presented a clear marketing opportunity.
Luxury department store Fortnum & Mason, which supplies tea to the royal family, is selling a special organic coronation darjeeling for £19.95 ($24.90) per 200 grams for the coronation.
“We chose Darjeeling because we understand that King Charles drinks this with a spoonful of honey,” said Ottilie Cunningham, one of the brand’s executives.
“We have decided to select only organic tea gardens in Darjeeling because of His Majesty’s passion for organic farming.”
Popular with royal collectors, “Emma Bridgewater” ceramics company has produced a wide range of tableware for the occasion, ranging from £12 to £28 for a mug, tea or coffee cup.
All pieces are hand-decorated, the manufacturer says, adding that sales have started well and are expected to be better than for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum anniversary last year.
The coronation will also lead to the sale of about six million coins and medals minted for the event, worth millions of pounds worth of jewellery, flags and banners and 10,000 teapots, according to forecasts from consultants at the Center for Retail Research.
The cost-of-living crisis will fade into the background, with Britons and tourists expected to spend more than £245m on souvenirs alone – and more than £1.4bn if wider celebrations are included, it added please.
‘Fanatic’
“Many of the people buying souvenirs will be older people… who are less affected by the cost-of-living crisis – they own their homes, have pensions,” said CRR director Joshua Bamfield.
In the gift shops behind the palace, customers come in to view an eclectic mix of royal memorabilia, looking for “£15 to £20,” according to store manager Ismayil Vadakkethil.
Items include protective gloves embossed with the royal coat of arms, Union Jack-decorated paper towels and streamers, and a “monarchy forever” t-shirt with the king on it.
“My mum is a fanatical royalist, she has a display cabinet with all that royal stuff,” says Australian Julie Whitehead, 63.
“So I’m going to get her the King Charles ones because her closet is full of Queen Elizabeth ones,” she added.
But while King Charles items sell well, so do souvenirs featuring the monarch’s late mother, who remain very popular with royal souvenir hunters.
“I prefer the Queen,” said Amélie Zerr, a 40-year-old French tourist, adding that she was looking for a “small, kitschy souvenir” and had set her sights on a mug and coaster.
The customers have changed recently, Mr Vadakkethil notes.
“Recently I’ve noticed that it’s not just tourists coming in. People who work next door, in the offices, the Londoners themselves, they’re coming into the store,” he added.
For Britons it is “a big event”, and many will be experiencing a coronation for the first time, Bamfield said.
“People will be impressed by the ceremonial aspect and buy things to remember,” he predicted. “It’s part of the British psyche.”
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