(Left) Moorcroft Royal Wedding Vase, 8” tall. –photo courtesy
www.moorcroft.com
(Top) Official Royal Wedding commemorative pillbox
–photo courtesy Royal Collection 2011 (c) Her majesty The Queen Elizabeth II,
www.royalcollectionshop.org.uk
(Bottom) King George V and Queen Mary Jubilee tea mug.
–photo by Georgie Luttrell
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by John Syratt
On April 29th, millions of people around the world will be watching events unfold at Westminster Abbey in London, England as Prince William weds his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton.
Almost as soon as Prince William announced his engagement to Kate, souvenir shops and chinaware producers were overwhelmed with requests for special edition mugs, cups and saucers, plates and other collectibles commemorating the upcoming wedding.
Sales of royal commemorative items before and after the April 29th wedding are expected to reach close to $70 million CAD.
Souvenirs commemorating royal events have been collected since the 17th Century. Coronations, weddings, births, anniversaries, jubilees and other special events have been the subject of thousands of memorabilia pieces.
Besides bone china, commemoratives can include figurines, spoons, pins, medallions, crystal goblets, paperweights, jigsaw puzzles, calendars, handkerchiefs, tea towels, dolls, and for this wedding, the first royal wedding comic book.
Aynsley and Royal Crown Derby have both produced pieces to celebrate the union. Moorcroft has created a Royal Wedding Vase which retails for about $770 CAD.
“For an item to hold its value or increase in value it needs to be a quality piece and a significant piece,” observed Bill Picken of Heirlooms Antiques in Calgary. “Our experience is that pieces from 1935 and 1936 (Edward’s abdication) are holding their own pricewise.”
Prices at Heirlooms: Queen Victoria dinner plate, $150. A 1910 King George V and Queen Mary pair of drinking glasses, $150. A 1953 Burleigh Ware water jug with Queen Elizabeth II seated on throne, $165. Aynsley salad plate with Edward VIII, $75. A 1936 Ruwaha Accession of Edward VIII dinner plate, $65. Charles and Diana cup and saucers, $8-$12.
“Some of the newer items are more expensive than the older ones,” Picken noted. “A new piece is probably going to be more than a 1953 piece.”
Prince William and Kate are said to be planning a two-week trip to Canada in July which will reportedly begin on the East Coast and end in BC.
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