Royal Wedding tea towels to be officially manufactured

LONDON - The British Royal Household has turned around on its decision not to allow Royal Wedding tea towels, saying they will be officially manufactured to commemorate the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

The decision came after a ruling last month, which laid down what was acceptable as Royal Wedding memorabilia and what would be deemed by the Palace as items too lowly for the future king.

It had been suggested that though mugs, plates, biscuit tins and porcelain pill pots were suitable, long-lasting items that could be cherished by the Queen’s loyal subjects, tea-towels, aprons, T-shirts and cushions were too “disposable”, and would not receive the official seal of approval.

The ruling, issued by the Lord Chamberlain, Earl Peel, had upset tea towel manufacturers, who called the move as “barmy”.

The Royal Collection, part off the Royal Household, announced on January 11 that the official tea towel will be a plain white drying up cloth, made from linen, featuring the initials of Kate and William intertwined and the prince’s coronet.

“Thank goodness the Palace has seen sense. We’ve already dubbed it the Royal Dry-ness,” the Telegraph quoted Clair Hufton at Asda, the supermarket, as saying.

The Royal Household insisted it had not performed an about turn, pointing out that it was still following the guidelines set out by the Lord Chamberlain that no picture of Kate and William appears on any textile product. Neither is any royal coat of arms adorning a tea towel.

The tea towel, which will appear in the gift shops of Royal palaces, is expected to cost about 8 pounds. (ANI)