LONDON: From fine china makers to the producers of nick-nacks of dubious taste, souvenir makers have gone into overdrive ahead of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. It's as if the Olympic motto “faster, higher, stronger” has been adopted by the firms, except the records being smashed are for production — and irreverence. The Internet — embryonic at the time of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding in 1981 — has clearly helped, boosting the number of collectors abroad as well as buyers of the most tongue-in-cheek souvenirs. The machines turning out everything from the most exquisite ornaments to kitsch keepsakes have been working non-stop since November, when William and his bride-to-be announced their engagement. “It started on day one,” said Julie Wing, sales director at Elgate, which is offering customers a range of souvenirs including a gold-trimmed ashtray emblazoned with pictures of the happy couple. Official and unofficial articles — some made in the United Kingdom, many not — have swamped British shops and market stalls. The lovebirds' smiles adorn more than 3.5 million mugs along with multitudes of plates, key-ring bottle openers, cricket caps, t-shirts and even refrigerators. Replicas of Kate's wedding dress and the sapphire engagement ring are also available. Another must-have souvenir is a book of instructions on how to “knit the wedding” in woollen figures, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, complete with his bushy grey beard. In total, souvenir sales will near £200 million ($325 million), the Center for Retail Research predicted. “It's massive,” said Andrew Cousins, whose family-run company, Peter Jones Ltd, has made one million pounds of extra turnover. Certain ornaments, such as porcelain models of the Westminster Abbey wedding venue, can be bought by monthly instalments to cater for royal enthusiasts struggling in Britain's austere economic times. The apparent relaxing of the guidelines on merchandising seem to have encouraged counterfeiters and hawkers to cash in.
