The flower shops around Buckingham Palace are sold out of roses and lilies as crowds flock to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
A steady stream of thousands of people laid flowers, cards and soft toys at venues from Balmoral to Buckingham Palace to pay their last respects to the late Queen.
As tributes, mourners left teddy bears, corgi stuffed animals, balloons, knitted replicas of the late monarch and her friend Paddington Bear and, in one case, a jam sandwich left at Balmoral, Scotland.
There was a message on the ziplock bag: “A jam sandwich for your journey, ma’am.”
Sunflowers are among the most common tributes left at Buckingham Palace, Windsor and Balmoral.
People could be seen stopping, bending down and reading messages left among the piles of flowers next to trees and railings. Many of them read, “We will miss you” and “Thank you for your service.”
While some customers bought a bouquet for £10, others spent up to £100 on bouquets for the Queen.
The manager of a gift shop near Buckingham Palace said the number of customers buying memorabilia doubled overnight following the Queen’s death.
Ismial Ibrahim, the manager of Cool Britannia, reported that delivery workers were working overtime and dozens of people were coming to the store every day.
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“Since that evening, we have had a huge influx of people. The crowds have been really big and since then people have started asking about all kinds of things related to the Queen,” said Ibrahim.
Over the weekend, there was a rush of people around the world to buy souvenirs – from mugs to dolls, newspapers, coins, jewellery and even tea bags – as manufacturers removed items bearing the Queen’s image to make room for those featuring her son, King Charles III.
Cool Britannia has already ordered items featuring King Charles III, which should arrive later this week, but sellers are not expecting them to be very popular.
Ibrahim said the shop only had around 50 customers a day after the school holidays ended, but that number has doubled since Thursday.
He added: “Until midnight, people flocked to the shop asking about anything that had a picture of the Queen on it.”
Due to demand for memorabilia, suppliers worked overtime to print commemorative t-shirts and sweatshirts that needed to be picked up in order to get them to stores quickly enough.
The official Buckingham Palace shop was closed after the Queen’s death.
Her funeral, which is scheduled for September 19, “is likely to have an impact on the tourism sector and the souvenir industry,” says Mirabaud analyst John Plassard.
“The royal family, which regularly appears on the front pages of newspapers, is an object of constant fascination, even far beyond the borders of the kingdom.
“Souvenir sales are expected to increase by £60 million ($70 million) as a result of the funeral,” he added.
The Centre for Retail Research found that over £281 million was spent on souvenirs, memorabilia and gifts to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Elsewhere, online marketplaces such as Etsy (ETSY) and eBay (EBAY) are already awash with stationery, mugs, fridge magnets and T-shirts bearing the Queen’s image and the year of her death.
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On eBay, a copy of the Times from Friday, the day after her death was announced, is being offered for sale at a buy-it-now price of £80. A copy of the Telegraph from the same day is currently priced at £50. A copy of the Financial Times from Friday is priced at £99.
On the other side of the world, the Australian travel industry says it is preparing for an “influx” of Australians travelling to London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
Local media reported that royalists could expect to pay almost double for flights. Even if the fare search is expanded to all airlines, those flying out of Australia will struggle to find economy seats for less than $4,000, said David Goldman, co-managing director of Bondi Junction-based travel company Goldman Group.
The Queen’s funeral is expected to lead to a surge in London hotel bookings as mourners from around the world flock to the capital.. Hotel prices in London have already risen by up to 25%.
The Royal Parks said cards and labels were acceptable and would later be “separated from the flowers and stored.”
“Unfortunately, gifts and artifacts will not be accepted and the public is asked not to bring them into the parks,” it said.
“Non-floral objects/artifacts such as teddy bears or balloons should not be brought.”
The Queen’s state funeral will take place on Monday 19 September.
