British trade invoices with Charles coronation – 02/05/2023 – Market

Plates with the likeness of King Charles III, tea towels and commemorative tea bags fill the shop windows behind Buckingham Palace, ready to do business with the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years.

“We order three times more than usual,” says Sardor Zok, manager of the Cool Britannia souvenir shop, which expects to see increased demand as the ceremony approaches this Saturday (6).

On the streets of London and on the internet, there is something for everyone. Fortnum & Mason delicatessen, which caters to the royal family, sells a 200g pack of special coronation organic Darjeeling tea for £19.95.

“We chose Darjeeling because, as far as we know, King Charles drinks it with a spoonful of honey,” Ottilie Cunningham, one of the brand’s managers, told AFP.

Very popular with collectors of royal events, the ceramic company Emma Bridgewater has a rich selection of tableware for the occasion. From £12 to £28 (R$75 to R$175) for a cup of tea or coffee.

All the pieces are decorated by hand, says the manufacturer, adding that sales are off to a good start and should be better than those for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee last year.

On the occasion of the coronation, around 6 million minted coins and medals will also be sold, as well as costume jewellery, streamers and something like 10,000 teapots worth millions of pounds, according to forecasts by the specialized consultancy Center for Retail Research (CRR). .

The cost-of-living crisis suddenly disappears: visitors and Brits will spend over £245m on souvenirs alone, and over £1.4bn on revenues from tourism and celebrations surrounding the coronation are included, as per the CRR.

“Many of those who buy souvenirs are from the elderly population, less affected by the cost of living crisis”, says Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR.

In the souvenir shops behind the palace, customers browse a wide variety, willing to spend “from 15 to 20 pounds” (R$90 to 120), according to Ismayil Vadakethil, manager of one of the companies.

There are tea towels and kitchen gloves emblazoned with the royal coat of arms, paper napkins emblazoned with the British flag and T-shirts that say “Monarchy Forever”.

“My mother is a fanatical royalist, she has all kinds of royal objects in a glass case,” says Julie Whitehead, a 63-year-old Australian. “I’m going to take her (souvenirs) from King Charles, because her cupboard is full of Queen Elizabeth stuff,” she adds.

Souvenirs honoring Queen Elizabeth II, however, remain very popular.

“I prefer the queen,” says French tourist Amélie Zerr, 40, who says she’s looking for a “kitsch little souvenir” and can’t decide between a mug or a coaster.

Customers have changed a bit for some time now, says Vadakketil. “It’s not just tourists anymore, but people who work in the shop next door. Londoners who come in just to buy the coronation items.”

For Britons, “it’s a big event” as many will see a coronation for the first time, Bamfield said. He added: “They will buy things to remember, it’s part of the British psyche.”

Translated by Luiz Roberto Gonçalves