Brit royal wreaths becoming more Chinese than British

LONDON - Prince Charles has been asked to intervene after it was revealed that parts of the Prince of Wales’s wreath have been made in China as part of drastic cost-cutting measures.

“The Prince of Wales plumage material is extremely expensive and as we now have to be cost effective it is being made in China, where it is much cheaper,” said a source at the Poppy Factory, which is jointly owned by the Royal British Legion.

“This is a break in an 88-year tradition but we all have to tighten our belts in these difficult times,” the Daily Express quoted the source, as saying.

News of a Chinese link comes as an embarrassment to Prince Charles, who has had a troubled relationship with China over human rights, the environment and its continued rule over Tibet.

The Poppy Factory in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, makes more than 7,000 wreaths every year.

Prince Charles’s former spokesman, Dickie Arbiter, said: “The Royal British Legion must live in the real world. In these harsh times, it may mean purchasing elements from China. It does not lessen the symbolism of what the wreaths stand for.” (ANI)