Traitor Tees and Tabloid Merch: How London Markets Turn Royal Rows Into Retail
From Camden stalls to Oxford Street souvenir shops, the capital has a long tradition of printing the latest royal drama on anything that will hold ink
Print It and They Will Buy It
London has a talent that I have always found both appalling and admirable: it can turn anything into a souvenir. Coronations, weddings, jubilees and, yes, family feuds. So when the London Prat piece on Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors started circulating, I knew it was only a matter of time before the word traitor appeared on a tote bag somewhere near Camden Lock.
The Story Behind the Slogan
For those who have been avoiding the news, which is a perfectly sensible lifestyle choice: an unnamed source claims the heir called his brother and uncle traitors after the uncle published a memoir. Reports say reconciliation is off. Nobody named has confirmed anything. In other words, it is perfect merchandise material: dramatic, deniable and endlessly repeatable.
A Brief History of Royal Merch
Royal souvenirs are one of Britain oldest consumer traditions. Commemorative mugs, plates and tea towels have marked royal events for generations, and anyone who has cleared out a grandparent cupboard knows how many survive. What has changed is tone. Where once souvenirs were reverent, today the most popular pieces are often ironic: slogan tees, cheeky mugs, tote bags that reference a scandal rather than a celebration. The monarchy has become, among other things, a meme, and London retail has adapted accordingly.
The Irony Economy
Walk through Camden Market, Brick Lane or the souvenir shops of Oxford Street and you will find a spectrum of royal merchandise. At one end, the traditional: union flags, corgis, crowns. At the other, the knowing: slogans that play on royal gossip, often with a wink that tourists and locals alike enjoy. I would not be at all surprised to see a traitor mug by Christmas. I would be slightly disappointed if I did not.
There is, I think, something healthy about this. A population that can laugh at its royal family on a tea towel is a population that is not taking any of it too seriously. And for small designers and market traders, royal drama is reliable business: cheap to print, quick to sell, and always topical.
The Video
The London Prat has released a companion video on YouTube, which would, I suspect, make an excellent print on a t-shirt if anyone could fit it on.
Taste and Tact
There are lines, of course. Merchandise that plays on the brothers quarrel is one thing. Merchandise that trades on the memory of their late mother is quite another, and I would hope any designer with a conscience would steer well clear. The memoir is written by her brother about her life, and whatever the family politics, she deserves better than a novelty slogan. Good irony punches at the powerful and the pompous, not at the grieving.
The Fashion Value of a Slogan
Slogan dressing has a long and serious history in London fashion, from punk in the 1970s to protest tees on catwalks. A single word on a shirt can carry an enormous amount of meaning, and traitor is a strong word. Worn ironically, it becomes a joke about loyalty and family. Worn sincerely, well, you would have to ask the wearer. Either way, it is the kind of word that fashion loves: short, loaded and instantly recognisable.
The uncle, for his part, has said he told everyone about his book beforehand, which rather spoils the slogan. Fair warning does not fit on a t-shirt nearly as well.
The Tourist Factor
Much of London royal merchandise is bought by visitors, and visitors are a surprisingly good barometer of how the monarchy is perceived abroad. Ten years ago, the bestsellers in many souvenir shops were straightforward: flags, guards, crowns. Today, many shop assistants will tell you that humour sells better than reverence. Visitors want something that shows they know the gossip, not just the landmarks. A traitor mug, if one appears, will be bought by someone from Ohio or Osaka who wants to show friends back home that they are in on the joke. That is not disrespect so much as familiarity. The royal family has become a shared global soap opera, and souvenirs are how its audience keeps score.
Sustainability Pangs
I do feel obliged to add a small note of conscience. Novelty merchandise is fun, but much of it is cheaply made and quickly discarded. If you must buy a royal slogan shirt, buy one from a local printer on decent cotton, and wear it until it falls apart. Irony lasts longer when the fabric does.
Buy local, buy well, laugh often.
Irony is best worn with a good cut.
Final Thought
London will print anything, and that is part of its charm. Royal feuds come and go, but the tote bags remain, gathering dust in the back of wardrobes as little cotton archives of what we were all gossiping about. The London Prat, printing its own brand of mischief since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, got there before the merch did. Bohiney, at https://bohiney.com/, covers what Americans are printing. And if you want more of my thoughts on London markets and style, head over to my column.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/
