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Celebrate our new monarch with souvenirs fit for a king
With only a few days to go until King Charles III is crowned at Westminster Abbey, the bunting is up, fans are camped out on the procession route and the ingredients for Victoria sponge and ‘Coronation Quiche’ are on order from the supermarket.
And, although you may feel like you’ve left it to the last minute, there’s still time to pick up a longer-lasting souvenir of the big day.
Not surprisingly, many a brand has produced their own tribute to the new monarch in the form of everything from toffee to tea towels – and with varying success. So we’ve scoured through their offerings and chosen the best King Charles coronation memorabilia to commemorate the occasion.
With only a few days to go until King Charles III is crowned at Westminster Abbey, the bunting is up, fans are camped out on the procession route and the ingredients for Victoria sponge and ‘Coronation Quiche’ are on order from the supermarket.
And, although you may feel like you’ve left it to the last minute, there’s still time to pick up a longer-lasting souvenir of the big day.
Not surprisingly, many a brand has produced their own tribute to the new monarch in the form of everything from toffee to tea towels – and with varying success. So we’ve scoured through their offerings and chosen the best King Charles coronation memorabilia to commemorate the occasion.
Whether you like tea and biscuits or cake and something stronger, we have some tempting limited-edition food and drink to enjoy over this special weekend. And if you’re decorating your home in honour of our new king, we’ve found cushions, bunting and tableware that will show your support as well as your style credentials.
So without further ado, let’s see what we’ve crowned as the best coronation buys…
Marks & Spencer has gone to town with its coronation range, offering up everything from tie pins to tea services – there’s even a pretty Coronation Hand Wash & Lotion Set, £12.50.
But for our money, you can’t beat this commemorative (and very reusable) tote. Its filled with tasty goodies, including my personal-favourite all-butter shortbread, as well as English Breakfast tea, King of Everything chocolate crowns and a giant milk chocolate gold coin.
Biscuiteers are famed for their highly decorative iced biscuits, which are often branded too pretty to eat (although after a few hours of admiration, you may change your mind).
Despite the price tag, demand for this set is high, but you can still order them. Each box contains 12 lemon iced biscuits, which last up to three months.
When it comes to commemorative buys, tea towels are one of the most versatile. Not only can they be used for their original purpose, they can also be framed or upcycled as cushion covers.
This trio represents excellent value – even the plain blue design could make a great cushion backing.
Pretty much anyone who’s anyone is selling a coronation hamper this weekend. But if you’re going to do things properly, look no further than royal warrant holder Fortnum & Mason, ‘tea merchants and grocer’ to His Majesty the King.
The Coronation Tea Hamper is loaded with teas, truffles, cake, biscuits and – of course – the obligatory bottle of champagne.
However, if you can’t stretch to its £385 price tag, you can pick up a pretty commemorative tin of Organic Darjeeling Tea for £19.95.
We all know that King Charles is a keen gardener – his Highgrove estate serves as an example of his passion for plants. So it seems fitting to pay tribute to our new king with a little garden colour. Enter the Royal Clematis collection from Dobbies.
“The Royal Clematis collection is perfect for adding colour to pots and hanging baskets, with a variety of options, each named after a member of the Royal family,’ says Dobbies’ horticultural director, Marcus Eyles. “The clematis ‘Prince Charles’ is a wonderfully fitting choice for gardeners looking to commemorate King Charles III’s ascension to the throne and will produce beautiful mauve-blue flowers for a pop of colour.
“This compact plant is perfect for climbing up walls and trellises and works well in containers, meaning it’s a great choice to brighten up patios and balconies,” he adds. “When planting, ensure you use a soil with good drainage and plant in a sunny spot. Your container should be large enough to allow the plant’s roots to grow, and you should make sure to water regularly during the summer months to keep your clematis hydrated.”
Whether you’re trying your hand at making the official ‘Coronation Quiche’ or sticking with a tried-and-tested Victoria sponge and coronation chicken sarnies, you’ll need something to serve them on.
These whimsical Cath Kidston plates can double as a memento of the occasion, and are fittingly handmade in England by Royal Stafford. Even better, they are currently on sale, with this plate set reduced from £30.
There’s no shortage of special-edition drinkies available to toast the new king, so here’s just a small selection. We’ve gone for that quintessentially English garden party staple, Pimms; The English Whisky Company’s latest royal commemorative bottling; and a patriotically packaged gin.
According to the Daily Express, it’s rumoured that Charles’s favourite drink is a gin martini, with 50/50 parts of gin and dry vermouth.
Picking up an Emma Bridgewater mug to mark a royal occasion has become something of a tradition for me. Seeing them on display all in a row always makes me smile, as I’m reminded of where I celebrated and who I was with. Whether I was getting rained on while watching the Jubilee flotilla on the River Thames, or cooing over Princess Kate’s beautiful wedding dress shortly before my own nuptials.
These mugs are also a pleasure to drink out of – not so delicate that you’re scared you’ll break them, and vibrant enough that they’ll perk up the darkest morning. Best of all, everything in the royal collection is currently 30% off.
If you’re looking for something a little bit different – and very exclusive – how about this poster to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III? It was created in a limited edition of just 300 in April 2023, using traditional hand-stencilled screen-printing methods.
Six individual pennants of pure wool depicting His Majesty the King’s insignia, the Royal Crown and the Union Jack are joined together to form a beautiful piece of commemorative coronation bunting. The colours are the patriotic red, cream and navy blue and it is exquisitely hand embroidered, making this truly an heirloom of the future.
Hang this inside or out and let the party begin!
Last but definitely not least, we couldn’t resist including something from the new king’s own Highgrove shop. Not least because proceeds from the sales of the shop go support the work of The Prince’s Foundation.
These patriotic silk scarfs can be worn with pride or framed and hung on the wall. The blue scarf was designed by illustrator Rory Hutton especially for occasion. Rory was inspired by the gardens at Highgrove, and has included motifs such as delphiniums, ferns and elegantly clipped topiaries.
Written by Amy Cutmore she/her
Published:
Amy Cutmore is Editor in Chief for Homes at Saga Exceptional. She’s been writing about interiors for more than 20 years, harking back to the days when glossy red kitchens, toile de Jouy and rag rugs were all the rage, and everyone wanted a Changing Rooms makeover.
You’ll have seen Amy’s work at Britain’s biggest homes titles, including Ideal Home, where she served as Consumer, Technology and Group Digital Editor. She has also edited or written for Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, 25 Beautiful Homes, Real Homes, Gardeningetc, Inside Readers’ Homes, Inspirations for Your Home, Country House & Home, Top Ten Reviews, Trusted Reviews and Country Life. And she’s a winner of the PPA’s Digital Content Leader of the Year.
Amy’s homes knowledge knows no bounds – but her Mastermind-style specialist subjects include kitchen and bathroom design, and technology. For many years, she was Ideal Home’s Girl About Tech, where she spent her days pitting KitchenAid mixers against Kenwoods, attending washing machine launches (in 10 different countries, no less) and ensuring everyone who would listen knew their RPM from their RAM.
Amy rents out three properties, so is always on hand with advice for tenants and landlords alike, and is renovating her own home – a late-Victorian semi in desperate need of a kitchen extension and upstairs bathroom. When it comes to her interior design approach, she is a big fan of teal, can’t resist a statement wallpaper and loves vintage wooden furniture, whether it’s in the form of an old sleigh or a tatty trunk.