Coronation Year Gifts Project 2023.
With the supply of 1908 King Edward VII Prayer books in the Chapel Royal St James dwindling, The Reverend Canon Paul Wright and Nick Farrow – then Chair of the RWH Charity – discussed replacing them with some 2023 His Majesty King Charles III books.
Because 2023 was going to be such a special year, this idea grew into gifting a special version for each of Their Majesties The King and The Queen as a celebration of their Coronation and for their personal use.
Thanks to the generosity of Royal Warrant-holding companies, over £240,000 was raised in support of the 2023 RWHA Coronation Year Gifts Project. £100,000 was used to fund, at cost, the production of a set of beautifully embossed, red Royal Coronation prayer books, as well as ten black Chapel Versions to be housed in an oak bookcase, made from Sandringham Oak.
Every element of the gifts was crafted by Warrant holders:
Barnard & Westwood
Fine Printers and Bookbinders – typeset all the wording and litho-printed the inside pages on Munken Paper’s sustainable range.
J Hewit & Sons
Leather Manufacturers – supplied the leather for all the covers.
Temple Bookbinders
Specialist Bookbinder – Hand bound and embossed each of the Prayer Books and handmade the two complementary protective boxes.
Thomas Lyte Goldsmith & Silversmiths
Precious metal workers – designed, hand cut, polished and hand engraved two unique silver bookmarks for the two Royal Prayer Books, using Oak and Yew leaves as inspiration.
Zone Creations
Presentation Designers – designed and created the illuminated bookcase to fit into the surroundings of The Chapel Royal, using fallen oak donated by The Sandringham Estate. The bookcase is finished with beautiful laser engraving on either side.
Today, the project is complete, and the Prayer Books are a thing of beauty, as is the Sandringham Oak bookcase for the Chapel Royal.
In addition, a significant tree planting initiative was funded in the UK’s four Capital cities, with additional tree planting in the publicly accessible parts of three Royal Estates.
Excess funds were divided between The RWH Charity, The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) and further tree planting, helping at least 12 charities in all.
