Teacup marking Queen's 95th birthday on sale for £65

Commemorative china marking the Queen's 95th birthday is on sale from Saturday, with a teacup and saucer costing £65.

The Queen will turn 95 on 21 April, though the day will be marked quietly, as she usually celebrates her real birthday privately.

And for the second year in a row her official birthday will be impacted by the coronavirus crisis, with Trooping the Colour cancelled in its full form in London.

Despite those setbacks, the official memorabilia, featuring mugs, tea caddies and biscuits, has gone on sale from the Royal Collection Trust.

Prices start at £9.95 for a tea towel, with a tea caddy or a tub of rose and almond biscuits costing the same amount.

Read more: Why does the Queen have two birthdays?

The collection was inspired by the pink roses in the East Terrace Garden at Windsor Castle, where the Queen has been living for the majority of the last year.

The roses bloom in June, the month the Queen celebrates her official birthday.

As well as marking her 95th birthday this year, the Queen will be preparing to celebrate her husband's 100th. Prince Philip reaches his centenary on 10 June.

Plans are also already underway for the Queen Platinum Jubilee, which will be marked next year, as she reaches 70 years on the throne.

The full set of items from the Royal Collection Trust for her 95th birthday includes the teacup and saucer, a side plate at £40, a tankard also £40, a £25 mug, and £35 pillbox. There's also a two hanging decorations, a corgi with balloons at £18.95 and a roundel decoration at £23.95.

Some of the cheapest items include the tea towel, rose and almond biscuits or tea caddy, all £9.95, but there's also a tin of shortbread biscuits at £10.95.

There are some sweets for £5.95.

The RCT said the range of china was handmade in Stoke-on-Trent, using "methods and techniques that have remained unchanged for 250 years".

Explaining the creativity behind the range, an RCT release said: "From the development of initial designs and creation of individual moulds, to the hand-finishing with 22-carat gold and manufacture of the special packaging, the production process encompasses the skills of over 50 individuals from several factories at the heart of the English Potteries."

The design features a "Royal coat of arms above a garland of roses, shamrocks and thistles, the National Emblems of the United Kingdom, surrounded by pink roses".

The items will be sold in Royal Collection Trust shops at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and on Buckingham Palace Road, and at Royal Collection Trust shops at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, when non-essential shops reopen in England and Scotland.

The RCT is a department of the royal household and manages royal art and jewels as well as the summer opening of Buckingham Palace and the regular openings of Windsor Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, with much of its income coming from tourists.

It had to request a second loan in February this year as it faces a huge drop in income because of the pandemic.

The palaces have mostly been closed since March 2020, with only limited periods of opening subject to local restrictions, meaning they have lost much of their tourist income.

The trust looks after the royal collection on behalf of the Queen and the nation and ensures that as much of it as possible can be seen through gallery openings and events.

The RCT does have some money in reserve. Its annual report for 2019-20, when the trust was not profoundly impacted by the pandemic, shows a total income of £71.5m and a surplus of £3.5m. Its reserves were £8.4m at the time.

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