Skip to content

By Katie Dabin on

We're All Mugs For A Royal Wedding…

Oh we all love a royal wedding. With memorabilia manufacturers wasting no time to issue commemorative souvenirs featuring Prince William and his future missus, Kate Middleton, it’s an opportune moment to examine a few monarchical mementoes from our own collections…

Mugs to celebrate the marriage of Charles, HRH Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, were presented to child patients at the Lord Mayor Treloar Orthopaedic Hospital, Alton, England.

Charles and Diana commemorative mug, 1981. Credit: Science Museum, London

I’m rather a fan of this royal silhouette vase (Can you see it? Can you see it?!!!), created as part of an illusions exhibition for display in the Millennium Dome. Though not wedding ware, the original vase made by Kaiser Porcelain, celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee of 1977.

Can you guess who it is yet? The vase's shape creates an optical illusion, showing the profiles of the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Credit: Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

If that isn’t ostentatious enough for you, check out this extravagant cigar holder, celebrating the coronation of the Bavarian king, Ludwig II in 1864.  With a penchant for building fairytale-like castles, Ludwig became known variously as The Swan King, the Fairy Tale King and latterly ‘Mad King Ludwig’.

Cigar holder representing the coronation of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Munich, Germany, 1864-1867

Clearly, ornate meerschaum pipes (a versatile clay-like material) were the royal souvenir fad of the day. Here’s another from the 1880s, this time picturing the coronation (or possibly wedding) of Frederick III, Emperor of Germany, and his consort Victoria.  Perhaps it’s time to resurrect the ornate pipe to mark Will and Kate’s nuptial celebrations?

Nothing more tasteful than commemorating a royal celebration with a giant ornate pipe. Credit: Science Museum, London

Finally, whilst nowadays there’s no pressure to produce an heir, Kate might still want to check out our Royal Births game for some tips…