A die-hard fan of the Royal Family has admitted he goes days without food to fund his enormous collection of memorabilia. Michael Perkins spends up to 20 hours a week scouring charity shops and jumble sales for royal items and has even run out of room in his house to store them all.
The 38-year-old from Newport has around 1,000 items in his collection, which he started after buying a mug for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002., the Daily Star reports. Since then, he has gone on to collect cups, plates and milk bottles all celebrating the Royal Family, while he even has a piece of Charles and Diana's wedding cake which is now over 40 years old.
He has now crammed so much memorabilia into his two-bed house that he has started renting a storage unit to house hundreds of items, while other pieces have been left with trusted friends. Get the latest news from Newport sent straight to your inbox every day by signing up to our newsletter.
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Michael's hobby has even see him sacrifice his diet to afford new items, surviving on tinned goods and microwave meals while even going some days without food. The cost of living crisis has tightened his budget but he still spends his remaining pounds and pennies on royal collectibles.
"“Sometimes I’ll go without food and go without other things to subsidise it," he said. "With the cost of living crisis and my benefits it is really hard but I do manage to find little bits and pieces. Sometimes I won’t eat for a couple of days. I scrimp with the food and just buy tins - like beans and microwave meals."
He added: "I don’t smoke or drink, and whatever is left out of my budget I spend on royal memorabilia - even if it’s just £1 or £2. I go to charity shops or jumble sales to find stuff. Some of them keep it in the back for me now if it’s donated because they know I like it.”
Despite accusations that he is "addicted" to collecting memorabilia, Michael has said it is just an enjoyable hobby. He has even compared his passion to that of a football fan, adding that they would spend the same amount of time and money on their interests.
“You could say people who follow football have an addiction, it’s just the same as that,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s an addiction. It’s just a hobby and I enjoy it.”
While still being a die-hard fan, he has been left less than impressed with the actions of some businesses following the Queen's death earlier this month. He has accused these businesses of "cashing in" on Elizabeth II's passing by charging extortionate prices for "stuff they've just knocked out".
“I don’t go for the unofficial stuff and I think in London they were cashing it in on it a lot,” said Michael. “I went to a shop and it was just stuff they’d knocked out - £17 for a mug. So I didn’t get it. I’m not like that - I collect because I enjoy it. I’ve liked the monarchy for a long time and I enjoy it so I don’t do it for the monetary value.”
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