Canadian Broadcasting Co.-Everything Royal-William and Kate wedding

Yesterday was a red letter day for Everything Royal.

   The Canadian Broadcasting Company visited my home to include me in a documentary about the upcoming wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton and the collecting of royal memorabilia.

It was a long day. Seven hours of shooting. We filmed in my living room which they found to be quite regal and my office (not so regal).

   I have to add, having done many TV shoots and magazine interviews during the 30+ years I've had Everything Royal, this crew were the best who've ever visited me. They were over-the-top respectful of my home and possessions and , I might add, the camera and sound man were both so cute. Oh to be 35 again.

   I had all handwritten letters, signed Christmas cards and photos on hand. Also all manner of gifts both given or received by a royal family member. They were pleased with my selections.

   They had previously filmed at Buckingham Palace and Aynsley China. After my shoot, they were going to Caroline Davenport's home who has a wonderful Diana room.

   Caroline until recently, had been a board member for the Diana, Dresses of Inspiration assisting in all exhibitions of Diana's dresses. Serving on various charity boards, raising, training and showing her dogs and being married to a Lt. Col. Ret. is a full time job leaving little time for traveling from exhibit to exhibit. She now has more time to dedicate to her charities, her Diana room for interviews and most importantly, her husband Lt. Col. James T. Davenport, USAF Ret.

   The CBC will also be visiting The Franklin Mint. Here's hoping they do a good likeness to Kate Middleton. There are more doll collectors worldwide than any other item collected.

   Of the hundreds of handwritten letters I had for filming from Queen Victoria to Prince William, the CBC was most impressed by my handwritten letter from Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor. As The King's Speech is being watched worldwide and is a leading contender for the Academy Awards, the letter is so historically significant. I hadn't seen or held the letter in many years. I have to admit, holding it in my hands again gave me a thrill. In the letter, written eight months after King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry her, she speaks of their ordeal, being happy it is over and is looking forward to their new life abroad. She also mentioned he sends her flowers  daily but, sadly, some had gone astray. I realized, while they were filming, I was holding a rare piece of history in my hands.

   I can't imagine the love this man had to give up the throne to be King of England to be with the woman he loved. My Jim won't give up Sunday football to take me to dinner.

My Jim (charlesandcharles.com)

   Sadly, the actress Jamie Tesdale, who happens to live next door did not get the part of Kate Middleton in the Lifetime movie, William and Kate. Not only is she tall , thin and regal, she is a double for Kate. She looked more like Kate than any other actress up for the role.

I  think the wedding is going to be bigger than anyone can possibly imagine. We haven't had a happy occasion or reason to celebrate in such a long time.

   We are a country at war. Most people don't think about us being at war. I think television does such a disservice. With the war being shown in our living rooms daily, it has become commonplace, almost like a movie. Never-the-less, we are a country at war.

   We are a country in a deep depression. I love people calling it a recession. Los Angeles has a million homeless sleeping on streets, in cars, etc. Everyone I know is hurting financially. Stores and businesses are closing here on a daily basis. Recession, my foot"

   Back to the subject at hand. We haven't had a reason to celebrate in such a long time. Not only are we a country a war and living thorough a depression, so many other sad events have taken place. 911 was the worst thing to happen in the US since Pearl Harbor in 1941.

   Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced. Prince Andrew and his wife divorced. Princess Anne and Mark divorced. We lost Princess Diana, The Queen Mum and Princess Margaret. Here comes Kate Middleton about to marry her Prince charming. It has been 31 years since Charles's and Diana's wedding. Now we have a reason to celebrate.

   There are two new generations of royal watchers. I've sold 1000 Prince William posters for young girls to adorn their walls. It's every girls dream to marry a prince. Well, Kate Middleton has done it and the world is watching. She's like a breath of fresh air.

   London is expecting more than 1,000.000 + visitors for the happy day. Hotel rooms and flights are booked. China is cranking out millions of commemorative pieces. (all tacky I'm sure). Not to get off on a political tirade "but" , I try to read all tags on things I purchase. It it's at all possible, I do not buy anything made in China. If we stopped buying "Made In China", there would be a great deal more businesses and factories in the US. I do believe we used to make TV's, stereos, all manner of appliances and clothing!!

   I suggest, if you're looking for a wedding souvenir, you buy from The Queen's Gallery, Halcyon Days Enamels, Peter Jones , Royal Doulton or Aynsley China.

   I feel for poor Kate. I don't think she is prepared for what's in the future for her. If Prince William thinks he can protect her from the nasty, disgusting (photographers is too nice a word) , he is sadly mistaken.

   I fear she is going to be hounded worse than poor Diana. Her face is already adorning many magazines including, People, Majesty, Royalty, US, Hello, Tattler and more. She has brought style and glamour back to the royals. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is one of the great ladies of all time, but, at 85, she is not cover girl material. Sadly, HRH Princess Anne is no longer a beauty and, I for one, will not be buying a magazine with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall on the cover.


   So, glamour and interest are back. Prince William and his Kate are absolutely the "new" Charles and Diana.!

Collecting Royal Treasures

Royal memorabilia:

DAVE McGINN

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Nov. 22, 2010 5:37PM EST

Last updated Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010 11:12AM EST

   Gladys Yeomans’s hobby started, innocently enough, with a small silver spoon commemorating King George VI taking the throne in 1936. Her collection of British Royal Family memorabilia has grown so large that she has lost count of just how many hundreds of mugs and spoons she owns. “I have a nice big room downstairs and it’s just chock full. And I’ve got some upstairs. I’m running over,” says Ms. Yeomans, 93, who lives on Vancouver Island.

  

   Her collection will soon be taking up even more room. Like many collectors, Ms. Yeomans is eager to acquire souvenirs of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.

   The race to produce wedding souvenirs is already on: plates, mugs, T-shirts, commemorative dinnerware and thimbles adorned with the couple’s faces have quickly made their way to market just days after the announcement of their engagement. Royal Crown Derby, a British-based manufacturer of fine bone china, has launched a range of commemorative items, including a loving cup, heart tray and octagonal plate, each decorated with a William and Catherine monogram and inscription. Other manufacturers, including Royal Doulton, Wedgewood and Aynsley are also expected to soon roll out their own commemorative lines.The sheer volume of memorabilia means that so much of what is made has little to no resale value. You have to go back to Queen Victoria taking the throne in 1837 to find objects that have increased in value, says Chris Green, an Ottawa-based appraiser.

   “You can still find things from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, George V, George VI – they’re all still by and large relatively inexpensive. It’s simply because it was mass produced to such a degree,” he says.And because the Royal Family doesn’t trademark itself, anyone is free to produce merchandise bearing their names or likenesses, which means there is no distinction between licensed and unlicensed merchandise – an important distinction in the world of collecting.

   “It’s basically a free-for-all,” says Richard Rosewell, owner of Mildred’s Memorabilia Antiques, in Qualicum Beach, B.C.

   Although it is impossible to say how much Will and Kate’s wedding memorabilia will ultimately generate, the wedding could add nearly $1-billion to the British economy, according to Verdict Research, which provides analysis of the retail industry. And all those mugs, plates, thimbles, tea towels and other knick-knacks will likely find many buyers in commonwealth countries such as Canada.

   Ms. Yeomans has spoons and pieces of pottery commemorating every royal from Prince Edward, Queen Victoria’s father, down to a cup commemorating one of Prince Williams’s recent birthdays.
While such items may not have a high resale value, pieces from Prince William’s wedding itself will have diehard collectors willing to pay a king’s ransom.

   “Anything rare that was actually part of the wedding can be quite valuable,” Mr. Rosewell says.
Some collectors have already let it be known just how much they are willing to shell out to get their hands on such items.

    “There hasn't been such interest since the late Princess Diana died,” says Alicia Carroll, owner of Everything Royal, a Los Angeles-based company that specializes in royal memorabilia.

   “I was offered $10,000 [U.S.] if I can obtain, after the fact, a wedding invitation, an invitation to the prewedding breakfast and the souvenir program,” Ms. Carroll says.

   Invitations sent to members of the Royal Family, other royals and heads of state and other close family friends will be worth the most valuable, she says. Their value, however, will depend on the size of the wedding. The smaller the wedding, the more invitations will be worth, she says.

   How do these items make their way from the big event to collectors’ trophy cases? It helps to know the right people. “I know four people that are being invited. I called them all and said, ‘Save everything for me!’ ” Ms. Carroll says. And, having been a royal commemorative dealer for 30+ years,  everything eventually ends up at my doorstep."

   Caroline Davenport  one of Ms. Carroll’s clients  and close friend has been collecting Diana, Princess of Wales, memorabilia for the past 13 years. Her collection of nearly 300 items includes signed Christmas cards, photographs given to foreign dignitaries and Halcyon Days boxes and enamel objets d’art Diana and Prince Charles gave to their staff over the years. One of her most cherished pieces is a silver alms dish Diana gave to her staff as a Christmas gift in 1992, the year she and Charles announced their legal separation.

   “It was a little joke of, ‘Ha, ha. We’re all going to be out of a job soon, so you might be on a street corner needing this.’ It shows her delightful sense of humour,” Ms. Davenport says.

   Ms. Davenport also owns a letter Diana wrote on her honeymoon to one of her five bridesmaids. She consideres this the most prized piece in her collection. Ms. Davenport collects items because she personally admires Diana. But it helps to know that most items in the collection will increase in value. “I absolutely love it. I just love it. The more expensive pieces, though, it’s not so much that I buy it for investment. But because they will hold their value or increase in value, the really, really, really rare stuff – I can justify my spending habit,” she says.

   She is biding her time to get her hands on an invitation to the wedding, an invitation to the luncheon afterward or even entrance tickets to the abbey. “If you fight with people who get the very first one available, you’re going to spend a tremendous amount of money,” she says. Of course, if you really need to satisfy the urge, you can always buy that new set of thimbles featuring Kate Middleton gamely smiling in a variety of hats.