The King's good for business - 3rd May 2023

Tourists visiting London are stocking up on souvenirs to mark the coronation of King Charles III. With the first coronation in 70 years due to take place on 6th May, visitors to the city are queuing up at a souvenir shop close to Buckingham Palace.

Julie Whitehead's visiting from Australia.

Julie Whitehead: "But my mother is a fanatic royalist. So, she's got a glass cabinet with all of these royal things, like her other daughters have come over here and purchased all this memorabilia. And so, I'm gonna pick up the King Charles ones for her because her cabinet's full of Queen Elizabeth."

There's something for everyone and at a variety of price points. Shops are stocked with mugs, plates, egg cups, coasters, tea cosies in the shape of a crown, tea towels, tote bags and even regal teddy bears.

Ismayil Vadakkethil's the manager of the Cool Britannia gift shop.

Ismayil Vadakkethil: "It's available in most of the shops around in London now. But we have some exclusives that which we have, so we had to pay some extra to get them in. For example, some of the mugs here, they're made in the UK itself. So, they might pay like £3 extra on the mug, but they don't mind paying it because, because of the quality, and they are made in the UK, so they like to buy for the price we have put on them."

Many of the customers come from Commonwealth countries, including Rebecca from Canada. She's looking for that special memento of this royal event that might not be available at home.

Rebecca Grisnich: "Well, I'm from Canada, and while the monarchy is also in Canada, they don't really have any coronation stuff. So."

Adele Alison from South Africa won't be in London for this historic event. However, she's delighted she'll be able to watch the crowning of King Charles III whilst sipping her special coronation tea.

Adele Alison: "For the coronation, yeah. So, at least when we're back in South Africa on Sunday we can watch it and have some tea."

But it isn't just the tourists who are stocking up on souvenirs of this British royal event, as Vadakkethil's discovered.

Ismayil Vadakkethil: "We sell equally like, royal family stuff plus the souvenirs. But recently, I've noticed that it's not just tourists coming in, like people who work next door like in the offices or like people from, the Londoners itself; they come in to the shop just to buy the coronation stuff. So, that, that's a bit of change. Yeah, so we have both tourists and local customers coming in for the coronation."