Object Details

From:NHerts

Name/TitleCoronation souvenir mug

About this objectThis mug is a souvenir of a Coronation which never happend. The Coronation of Edward VIII was set to take place on 12 May 1937, before this could take place King Edward abdicated his throne following a constitutional crisis.

As eldest son, Edward became King after the death of his father George V in 1936. The consitutional crisis came about as King Edward was determined to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorcee who was in the process of divorcing her second husband. This made the King's position as head of the Church of England difficult as the church did not allow divorced people to remarry in church if their ex-spouses were still alive. Numerous other objections were raised to both their partnership and the behavious of Wallis Simpson and the King himself. Edward was viewed by some to have been very lax in national security and even as someone closely aligned to fascism.

King Edward abdicated his throne in December 1936, by that time Coronation souvenirs such as this one had already been created and were circulating among the public.

Inscription around rim, 'CORONATION OF KING EDWARD VIII MAY 1937'. Profile of King Edward VIII on one vertical face with royal mottoes. On the reverse face is a crown and cipher 'E VIII R'.

MakerBritish Pottery Manufacturers Federation

Maker RoleMaker

Date Made1936

Period20th Century (1901-2000)

Place MadeUnited Kingdom, England

Medium and MaterialsCeramic

Inscription and MarksMakers mark in transfer on the base: OFFICIAL DESIGN OF THE BRITISH POTTERY MANUFACTURERS FEDERATION MADE IN ENGLAND

Measurements88 115 88 (HxWxDxDiam)

Named CollectionLetchworth Museum

Object TypeMug

Object number1936.7474

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved