Self Made Craft

Everybody loves a fairy tale with a happy ending, which is probably why the recent marriage between Prince William of England and Kate Middleton had such broad appeal.Indeed an enormous, enthusiastic television audience from around the world made it one of the highlights of the year. The enormity of the occasion was not overlooked by manufacturers of memorabilia, both tasteful and tasteless, and teddy bears featured prominently.

The Steiff Company, regarded as the first producers of stuffed teddy bears as far back as 1903, created the 27 cm tall peach coloured mohair 'Catherine' to commemorate the event. One foot of this bear is decorated with intertwined hearts and a satin bow around her neck is embroidered with their names, Catherine and William. Of course the trade mark 'button in the ear' is present. This bear was a limited edition of 1500 and sold for £165.00. No doubt it is a favourite of keen collectors.

Another collector's item is the William and Kate Kaycee Royal Wedding set. Both bears are made from white curly kid mohair but William bear is 33 cm tall and airbrushed in royal blue, while Kate is 29 cm tall and airbrushed in burgundy.Hanging around William bear's neck is a 9 carat gold and Swarovski crystal replica of the Royal Crown, while Kate has a life-sized replica of Princess Diana's engagement ring hanging around her neck. This is a limited edition of only 100, priced at about £420.00. The company that produced these bears is Teddy Bear Hollow of Loughborough, Leicestershire.

Merrythought, a famous British teddy bear manufacturer established in 1930, made a limited edition of 100 pairs of bears - William is made of light brown mohair, and Catherine of white mohair. Both have paw pads of embroidered gold, and carry a silk cushion on which details of the occasion are embroidered. The 28 cm tall teddies are priced at about £210.00.

Hermann Spielwaren has gone the extra mile! In addition to two wedding teddies, they produced 250 Royal Engagement Teddy Bears as well.This latter 35 cm tall bear is made from curly white mohair and sports a big blue bow on which their names are embroidered. In addition on one foot pad is embroidered 'Royal Engagement Bear' and on the other their names again and the edition-number. The cost was £190.00. The main wedding bear is created from valuable white mohair and dressed in a wedding gown decorated with Swarovski crystals.She carries a bunch of felted flowers and wears a light blue sash on which the date of the wedding and the names of the couple are embroidered. A second smaller teddy was also produced - there were 888 of these, made from white mohair. They are 28 cm tall, carry a bunch of felted flowers and have the edition number and the couple's names embroidered on the foot pads. These bears are priced at £99.00.

Disney World has also produced a commemorative bear: he is dressed in Royal Airforce regalia and was designed by The Great British Teddy Bear Company. He is accompanied by a replica of the engagement ring. A limited number was produced and retailed at $90.00.

At the other end of the scale are mass-produced, inexpensive commemorative bears. One example is a 25 cm tall golden bear sporting a white T-shirt with a photograph of Prince William and Kate on the front and their names on the back. This teddy sells for about £15.00. There is also a small 16.5 cm tall bear sporting a T-shirt with the logo 'I Love Royal Wedding' on the front. The word 'love' is actually represented by a heart printed in the colours of the Union Jack. This bear sold for £13.00.

Interestingly, it is said that the British Royal family does not like teddy bears! Royal biographer, Hugo Vickers, writing about the correct etiquette that should be practiced when William and Kate visited Ottawa to celebrate Canada Day, suggested that presenting them with teddy bears would not be a good idea! Maybe his greatest concern was that such gifts were most likely to be treasured possessions of the children presenting them - and they would probably burst into tears if the Royal couple actually accepted them and took them away!.

About The Author

Maureen and Andre are Authors of the e-book A Teddy Bear Sampler which provides an interesting variety of information and activities about teddy bears.

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