I visited London for King Charles III's coronation and scoured the city for all the fun, kitschy souvenirs I could find
Alesandra Dubin
- I'm an American who visited London for the coronation, and went on the hunt for kitschy souvenirs.
- The most popular souvenirs around town were Union Jack flags — and flag prints on everything.
As an American in London for the coronation of King Charles III, I wasn't so much invested in the monarchy itself as I was thrilled to be on the ground for such a historic event — the first coronation in my lifetime.
But I'll confess: the thing that got me most excited for the visit was not the somber celebration for Britain's new monarch (I'm team Sussex anyway), but the promise of fun and kitschy souvenirs to bring back home — and maybe even keep forever as mementos of the occasion.
My first stop on the hunt was Fortnum & Mason, the 300-year-old shop on Piccadilly.
Famous for top-quality tea and homewares, the Fortnum & Mason store has a dedicated "coronation shop" — where some of the most coveted mementos were flying off the shelves literally as fast as store staff could stock them.
I watched as stock people wheeled carts of merchandise out to displays, only for shoppers to snap them up immediately.
I hoped to score a teacup, but I was told those were long gone despite one still remaining on display in the case. Still widely available, however, were tins of both the coronation coffee as well as the coronation tea.
I'll be honest, the tea didn't look very tasty to me: a pineapple and coconut blend. But the keepsake tin was lovely, with a pair of flamingos and hibiscus flowers. So I bought four at £13, or around $16 a piece — the perfect gifts for friends and family back home.
I also got a couple of King Charles III tea towels for £13, or around $16, as well as a box of chocolate crowns for £15, around $19.
At Fortnum & Mason, I also scooped up a gilded plate emblazoned with a stylized "2023" in honor of the coronation year for £29, or around $36.
I expected to find the best goodies not in a proper shop, but lining the streets, where I figured vendors would be capitalizing on the opportunity.
It turns out that I overestimated the ubiquity of such souvenirs. In my estimation, American street vendors presented with an equivalent opportunity would have seized it with far more vigor, flooding the streets with as much commemorative gear as they could sell.
But I noticed an entrepreneurial kid selling Union Jack-printed plastic hats, as well as Union Jack flags. I should have bought them from him too — because he was asking £1.50, around $2, and I ended up springing for a pair of two at £5, around $6, just down the road.
At one Piccadilly street stand, I spotted coronation commemorative mugs for £8, around $10, or two for £15, around $19.
Here, there were also bobbleheads depicting Queen Elizabeth II — but none of King Charles. This was a missed opportunity because I would have bought one.
Walking into the area around Hyde Park to watch the coronation ceremony on the massive city-sponsored screens, I noticed a man selling souvenir programs of the day.
Surely an unofficial version dashed off at a print shop, they were £8, or around $10.
Indeed, the most widely-available souvenirs were flags of all kinds.
There were classic Union Jacks, King Charles-emblazoned flags, and even flags with Charles' likeness next to Queen Elizabeth's, a nod to the line of succession as well as the popularity of the late monarch.
Given the steady rain on coronation day, I would have expected to see opportunistic entrepreneurs selling Union Jack umbrellas or rain ponchos. While I saw plenty of people wearing them, I saw none for sale. Likewise was the case for plastic tiaras, crowns (inflatable and paper), and Union Jack headbands.
But it may have indeed been the rain around Hyde Park that discouraged some souvenir hawking — or perhaps I was just in the wrong place to look for it on coronation day.
The next day — the day of the big coronation concert — I walked down to the Piccadilly Circus area and that's where I hit the jackpot, cheeky souvenir wise.
There, souvenir shops hawked everything from Charles paper cups (all the better to toast with) and printed bunting to stickers, mugs, and more.
I also spotted some Union Jack sunglasses (more useful on the day following the coronation, when the weather was more favorable anyway), plus teddy bears, plush crowns, tote bags, souvenir coins, and more.
There were paper masks of Elizabeth's face as well as red, white, and blue face paint for patriotic displays.
Most curiously of all, I spotted a selection of Union Jack-printed cowboy hats. I passed on those, but I did scoop up a commemorative coronation sticker for my laptop (surprisingly, the shopkeeper gave it to me for free!) as well as a mug to bring home which was £15, or around $19.
The search may have been a bit harder than I thought it would be for all-in-good fun souvenirs from the historic day.
But as I prepared to board my plane back to Los Angeles, I was happy with my haul of commemorative tea accessories and more from a most historic day — and trip — I'll never forget.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement