A sibling duo has put together a Coronation-themed jigsaw puzzle celebrating King Charles III’s journey from boyhood to kingship.
Bermondsey-based brother and sister James, 26, and Rachael Hattam, 28, left their jobs as a photographer and graphic designer to pursue their jigsaw business full-time last year.
Their latest hand-drawn design, replete with Windsor symbolism, comes in 1000 and 500-piece editions and depicts a royal procession winding its way to Westminster Cathedral.
The Queen, Diana, Camilla, William, Harry, Kate and George all feature but Meghan is a notable absentee.
James who moved from Sheffield to Southwark to be with his Bermondsey-born girlfriend Jessica, said: “We read the mood and thought that there was quite a low chance of Meghan showing up to the Coronation.
“So we put our money on Harry being there but Megan – probably not.”
He and Rachel remember doing jigsaws as family. “It’s intergenerational. It’s just a great thing to do together,” said James.
“When there’s lots going on in the world it’s nice to gather around something that’s simple.”
While working for a gift company, James came up with a 2020-themed jigsaw, depicting memorable moments like the toilet roll crisis and Sir Captain Tom Moore’s sponsored garden walk.
It was a roaring success and now he and Rachel have given up their jobs to set up their business, Original Jigsaw.
The 51 x 70cm ‘Long Live the King’ edition traces Charles’s life and is full of clues to his personality – hinting at his love of environmentalism, polo and the arts.
Rachel, who drew the artwork free-hand, has even got Charles filling up his car with cheese and wine, so reluctant is he to use petrol.
Reflecting on a new chapter in Britain’s monarchy, James said: “I think it’s great that Britain has a royal family and I really respect Charles’s environmental convictions.”
You can buy the jigsaw puzzle here: https://originaljigsaw.co.uk/products/the-kings-coronation-jigsaw-long-live-the-king