You are aware, I'm sure, that Prince William, heir to the throne, is to marry Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on 29th April 2011. What you may not be aware of, however, that the national celebration has caused an outbreak of organisations to jump on the bandwagon and create a œcollector's edition design of their products.
The idea to make a quick buck seems to be a common one across the market, with companies ranging from Nestle to TFL willing to totally deface their established products with the ubiquitous faces of Kate and Wills to target the more patriotic members of society.The reality, however, is that the tried, trusted and familiar product designs have been replaced with garish, dull and plain lazy designs with some that are more like informational pieces than aesthetically pleasing pieces of history.
For instance check out the new œspecial edition oyster card, imagine having to produce this every time you used public transport. It looks like someone has tried knocking together an invite design by slapping on a picture of the happy couple with the event details. Clearly the œspecial in œspecial edition has been overlooked.
And then, sitting right on the other end of the spectrum, is Quality Street's attempt. Always front of the queue to celebrate a special royal occasion, they have come up with a mish-mash of bright, contrasting  colours which will make heads turn¦ the other way.
As well as these design abominations mentioned are œspecial edition stamps, mugs, tea towels and pretty much everything else you can think of. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of this young couple over the next few weeks, whether you intend to watch the royal wedding or not.
What do you make of this influx of wedding themed items? What the best or worst you've seen so far? Let us know in the comments section!
