THE ROYAL WEDDING – BALANCE AND CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

Are we all looking forward to 29 April when PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES marries a commoner, Catherine Middleton?

It will surely be a day to remember and to help us remember in years to come we will need souvenirs. In earlier days royal events such as this would have generated countless souvenir items such as mugs, plates, tea towels and even special commemorative tins of cigarettes containing 50 John Players cigarettes. (I once knew a man who, on the occasion of a Royal Jubilee, gave his wife a jubilee clip saying she could always adjust it if her finger got fatter). This time the commemorative industries will be working flat-out to give a fillip to the British economy with whatever they can slap a picture of the happy couple on – and which they will have made in China no doubt.

It is so easy for these items such as these to be vulgar and it is pleasing to see that The Royal Collection has presented us with the opportunity to purchase the definitive, authorised range of classy commemoratives that are not made abroad. Whether or not it is the intention to offer more I cannot say but what is presently on offer is an 8.75 inch diameter plate (£40), a 3 inch tall tankard (£35) and a 2.5 inch wide, 1.5 inch high trinket box (£25) – all in bone china made in Stoke-on-Trent (which is in England I would point out to my overseas readers).

The design of these items is beyond any doubt distinguished; it is elegant, subtle, modern without being strident or cute and, in terms of what’s important and what’s not, tells it like it is. At the centre of the plate is a large W in gold, above it and slightly entwined with it there is a large C, but in outline only and not in gold. This motif not only satisfactorily avoids the WC trap (Oh go on, think about it) but also gives prominence to the male and royal part of this partnership: basically one sees W very clearly and one does not see C anything like as clearly. Above the central letters there is a gold crown and around and above them the words To celebrate the marriage of (on the left) and and Catherine Middleton on the right. In between these two blocks of words and centred on top of the entwined WC it says Prince William of Wales and these are the words that you will probably read first.

To my eyes in this design there is a distinct imbalance in the emphasis given to each of these two rather charming young people. It’s 60% William and 40% Catherine. It might even go to 65/35. It really should be 50/50 should it not? But Grandma may have had a say in the design – and who could blame ’er?

The leaflet I have that illustrates the souvenir goodies carries a somewhat surprising statement which reinforces my suspicions about grandmotherly intervention; beneath the picture of the items and the blurb it says

                                      Copyright H.M. Queen Elizabeth 11 2010


Which makes it look as though H.M. the Q. may very well have had more than just a say in the design. I can’t see her going to evening classes to study ceramic design and I’m not aware of such skills being revealed on other occasions – but she claims copyright and if you are the Queen then the matter ends right there I guess.

I just can’t help thinking that somewhere, perhaps in Stoke-on-Trent, there is a commemorative plate designer who spent a lot of time creating a nice looking plate, mug and trinket box and taking note of the various sensitivities about who should get greater emphasis, who would probably so much have liked to have been given just a little bit of credit for the work. Remember that song sung by Billie Holiday, God Bless the Child? The first line goes ‘Them That’s Got shall Get’.