Calligraphers have been carefully putting the finishing touches to the personalised invitations for the King’s coronation. Images released on the royal family’s official social media accounts show the names of recipients being transcribed by hand in ink on the large, intricately-decorated invitations for the May 6 ceremony.
Among the invites pictured on the royal family’s Instagram account was one for Max Woosey, dubbed “the boy in the tent”, who raised more than £750,000 for North Devon Hospice by camping in his garden for three years. His invitation was jointly addressed to his father Mark, who is accompanying him.
A small team from London Scribes Calligraphers, which has worked for the Royal Household for more than 15 years, is writing the invitations by hand using traditional italic dip pens and bespoke mixed inks.
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“Putting the final touches on some very special invitations…” the post from Buckingham Palace read. It said the 2,000 guests invited to Westminster Abbey will “each receive a personalised invitation that has been beautifully hand-finished by a small team of calligraphers”.
Among the guests will be more than 450 British Empire Medal recipients, invited in recognition of their volunteering, charity work or for being community champions. London Scribes Calligraphers’ studio was first established in 1992 by Craig Poland-Smith, with a focus on traditional italic calligraphy for events.
The ink – made from gouache paints – was mixed by hand to perfectly match the printing and is the only batch that will be made. The Green Man, an ancient figure from British folklore symbolic of spring and rebirth, is the inspiration behind the overall design of the King’s coronation invitation. The artwork – which is on recycled card and has gold foil detailing – features a colourful abundance of wildflowers and wildlife, with the head of the Green Man as its central motif to celebrate the start of a new reign.
In the early hours of Tuesday, hundreds of military personnel rode on horseback through London for the first parade rehearsal for the coronation. The coronation will see the largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years, with more than 6,000 men and women of the UK’s armed forces taking part in the historic royal event. Charles and the Queen Consort will make their way back from Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach via Parliament Square, along Whitehall, around Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down The Mall back to Buckingham Palace.
