The couture crown has been created from 319 Scrabble tiles in celebration of Scrabble’s 75th anniversary and the coronation of King Charles III.
On National Scrabble Day (13th April), marking 75 years of the original word game, Scrabble has unveiled a couture custom crown made of 319 Scrabble tiles, an homage to the St Edward’s Crown that will be used in the Coronation of King Charles III.
Created by British milliner Justin Smith, of brand J Smith Esquire, the Scrabble Crown was painstakingly constructed over 153 hours with sparkling jewels, crystals and gold beading complementing the iconic black and white tiles.
The Scrabble Crown will go on display in Westfield White City at The Entertainer Toy Store before the Coronation. This is the second time the Scrabble brand has celebrated a Royal milestone; for the game’s 60th anniversary and the then Price Charles’ 60th birthday, a portrait of the heir to the throne was commissioned out of Scrabble tiles for the occasion. The Royal family have long been reported as fans of Scrabble, with Her Majesty The Queen Consort pictured playing in 2018.
The Scrabble Crown weighs in at 2.2 kg and has a circumference of 75cm, compared to the 2.23kg of its Crown Jewels counterpart. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot words hidden in the crown including ‘Royal’, ‘King’, ‘Coronation’, ‘MMXXIII’ (the Roman numerals for 2023) and ‘Wordplay’.
Justin Smith of J Smith Esquire said: “It was a labour of love to reimagine this most iconic of headwear, the St Edward’s Crown, with its rich, royal heritage, utilising Scrabble tiles creatively alongside traditional millinery techniques, to celebrate Scrabble’s 75th anniversary, as well as honouring the King’s Coronation.”
Ray Adler, vice president and global head of Games at Mattel, added: “We are thrilled to be celebrating 75 years of the ground-breaking strategic word game word game Scrabble. Scrabble continues to be one of the most iconic games in the world by fostering meaningful connections across generations, harnessing the power of words and celebrating the benefits of positive expression; an ethos brought vividly to life by players enjoying the simple fun of building words together on a shared game board.”
The game that started as a passion project by US architect Alfred Mosher Butts in 1948 has become a beloved game enjoyed by people of all ages with over 165m sets sold to date.
The tactical game of wits and words keeps on reinventing itself with dynamic innovations welcoming a new look that embraces all players, both long-time fans and newcomers. Scrabble continues to inspire the enthusiasm of game players across the globe with its latest extensions including Scrabble Junior, Scrabble Trap Tiles and Scrabble Vision, which has brought augmented reality to game play. The brand is set to enjoy future success as it joins forces with fan favourites like Harry Potter and Star Wars.
