THE Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year is here and to mark the occasion, a vast array of memorabilia is on sale, but would you buy a souvenir Easter egg for £145 and is any of it worth investing in anyway?
So what are the items on offer?
The range of goods in the official Royal Collection shop alone is extensive, ranging from a miniature tube of Platinum Jubilee shortbread at £2.95 to the Platinum Jubilee silk scarf at £195, featuring the historic event’s purple design, inspired by the purple Robe of Estate worn by the Queen at her Coronation.
There have to be tea towels?
There is always a tea towel to mark a royal event and there are a couple on offer in the official store at £9.95, along with a vast array of items, from shopping bags and umbrellas, to souvenir spoons, crystal champagne flutes and Christmas decorations. Among the more expensive items are the limited edition jubilee chocolate Easter egg for £145 and a velvet cushion for £125.
Unofficially?
Too many items to mention, from coasters to playing cards, and really anything anyone could possibly want along the way. If you feel the need for a commemorative ceramic hand bell, then you can find it on Amazon for £8.99, or if it’s a more official product, Steiff has released a limited edition platinum coloured mohair teddy bear sporting a cameo with the Queen's silhouette for £199.
Lovely jubbly?
A Chinese manufacturer sparked comparisons with Only Fools and Horses' beloved Del Boy - whose iconic catchphrase is of course 'Lovely jubbly! - after making 10,800 tea cups, mugs and plates to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne, but below her image are the words: "To commemorate the Platinum Jubbly of Queen Elizabeth II".
The catch is…?
If you are so inclined to snap up some of the souvenirs, many have sold out and when re-stocked, sell out again. And orders are falling behind on delivery “due to the unprecedented demand for merchandise to commemorate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee”.
Elsewhere?
British ceramics manufacturing firm Emma Bridgewater's line of mugs, saying "God Save the Queen” and “1952-2022” have sold out online and are among an extensive array of items already popping up on eBay.
At the end of the day…?
In its guide to royal memorabilia, online website Vintage Cash Cow - which re-sells contributors' vintage goods - says royal items to mark seminal events do "not necessarily" become investments, saying the more mass produced an item is, the less demand there may be in time, adding: “Fragile royal memorabilia like ceramics are not as in demand as say commemorative coins. This means your royal cups and plates will worth less than your coins and medallions.”
However?
The guide adds “anything personally connected to the royals” is a different story, “For instance anything bearing the signature of a royal or something belonging to one.”
Let them eat cake?
Last year, a slice of Charles and Diana’s wedding cake from 1981 sold for nearly £2,000 at auction. The 40-year-old slice of iced marzipan was from one of the 23 cakes made for the Prince and Princess of Wales' wedding.
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