(London) Plates bearing the image of Charles III, tea towels and commemorative tea bags vie for the limelight in display cases lined up behind Buckingham Palace, ready for the first coronation of a monarch in 70 years.
“We ordered about three times as many (souvenirs) as usual,” says Sardor Zok, crowning salesperson at Cool Britannia. He expects to see demand ramp up as the event approaches.
In London shops but also on the internet, there is something for everyone. Fortnum
“We chose Darjeeling because, from what we know, King Charles drinks it with a spoonful of honey,” Ottilie Cunningham, one of the brand’s managers, told AFP, also citing “the passion of His Majesty for Organic Agriculture”.
The ceramics company Emma Bridgewater, prized by collectors for royal events, offers a rich selection of tableware for the occasion – counting from 12 to 28 pounds ($20 to $47) for a cup of tea or coffee.
All pieces are decorated by hand, the maker says, adding that sales have taken off with a bang and are looking even better than for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee last year.
The coronation will also be an opportunity to sell some six million coins and medals minted for the event, millions of pounds sterling worth of jewellery, flags and banners and 10,000 teapots, forecasts the firm specializing in trade Center for Retail Research (CRR).
The purchasing power crisis suddenly takes second place: tourists and Britons will spend more than 245 million pounds (about $415 million) on souvenirs, and in total more than 1.4 billion ($2.4 billion) if the ‘we include the benefits of tourism and the celebrations around the event, figures the CRR.
“Many of those who will buy souvenirs will be among the older population, […] less affected by the cost of living crisis,” Joshua Bamfield, director of the Center for Retail Research, told AFP.
In the souvenir shops behind the palace, customers browse amid a motley assortment, ready to spend “15 to 20 pounds” ($25 to $34), according to Ismayil Vadakkethil, manager of one of the shops.
There are tea towels and oven mitts stamped with the Royal Coat of Arms, the British Union Jack in paper napkins and party favors or even a “Monarchy forever” T-shirt.
“My mother is a fanatical royalist, she has all kinds of royal items in a glass cabinet,” Julie Whitehead, 63, from Australia, told AFP. “I’m going to bring him (souvenirs) of King Charles, because his display case is full of things from Queen Elizabeth,” she describes.
But if anything related to King Charles sells well, so do souvenirs bearing the likeness of the late monarch, which remain very popular.
“I prefer the queen,” says Amélie Zerr, a 40-year-old French tourist, who says she’s looking for a “kitsch little souvenir” and whose heart still swings between a mug and a coaster.
Lately, customers have changed a bit, Vadakkethil notes. “There are no longer just tourists, but also people who work nearby, […] Londoners who come to the store just to buy the coronation items. »
For Britons, “it’s a big event”, many will see a coronation for the first time, says Joshua Bamfield, from the Center for Retail Research.
“They will buy items to remember it. It’s part of the British psyche.”
