British Retailer Bets On Prince William Nuptials

LONDON (November 17, 2006) — As far as the world knows, no question has been popped and no ring has been produced, but that hasn’t stopped one of Britain’s biggest retailers from gearing up for a royal wedding.

Prince William and his longtime girlfriend, Kate Middleton, have not announced an engagement, but in Britain there has been speculation — tinged, perhaps, with hope — that they soon could.

To that end, Woolworths has designed a range of Kate-and-Wills engagement memorabilia ranging from the traditional — mugs, plates, and thimbles — to the unusual, such as mobile telephones and prince-shaped candy.

“This is an exercise in being ready,” company spokesman Daniel Himsworth said, “because we felt we weren’t ready when Charles and Camilla got married.”

“It’s no secret they could get married. It’s been in the press, on the radio. This is about the mood of the country.”

Britain loves a royal wedding, it’s true. The marriage of Prince Charles to his longtime love Camilla Parker-Bowles was a relatively low-key affair; certainly, it was a far cry from the 1981 wedding of Charles to Lady Diana Spencer, when people slept in the streets to catch a glimpse of the bride and about 700 million people around the world watched it on television.

Souvenirs for Charles’ second wedding did a brisk business, and those bearing the incorrect date — their nuptials were rescheduled so the prince could attend Pope John Paul II’s funeral — are considered more valuable.

Himsworth said Woolworths estimates the market for memorabilia from a possible union between William and Middleton could top $19 million. By contrast, they estimated the market for Charles-and-Camilla souvenirs at $6 million.

William, who is second in line to the throne after his father, has been dating Middleton since they met at St. Andrew’s University, in Scotland, in 2001. The two, who are both 24, were first seen together publicly three years later on a skiing holiday.

Now, paparazzi often snap the pair on evenings out, and a recent picture of the couple smiling broadly at each other as they left one club made the front page of London’s Evening Standard, with the headline, “Look of Love.”

The accompanying article opined, “Kate smiles at William, and it is a smile of the tenderest affection, a look that says she loves him, admires him and yes, still fancies him something rotten. They are going home together at the end of the evening, and the girl could not be happier.”

In March, when the prince and Middleton left London for a Caribbean vacation, some in Britain’s media speculated that William was about to propose. Then, as now, the palace had no comment. On Friday morning, bookmaker William Hill put the odds of the couple becoming engaged this year at 5-1; it’s even money, though, that they will eventually be married.

Himsworth said that Woolworths hasn’t actually manufactured any of the merchandise. The chain has instead stockpiled all the materials they need, commissioned the designs, and when an announcement is made, production would begin.

Despite all the planning, the candy part is still up in the air. The idea is a new one, he said, and the shop isn’t certain exactly what form the candy would take.

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