A mini replica of Buckingham Palace made entirely out of sand, has been unveiled following research revealing that 70% of Brits on holiday over the long weekend will be celebrating the Coronation.
The stunning sculpture of the UK’s most popular landmark unveiled today was put together using a specially crafted Buckingham Palace sandcastle bucket and
was commissioned by easyJet Holidays to mark its ‘Holidays Fit For A King’ summer promotion.
Beachgoer Levi Babin aged 9 was the first to test the world’s first Buckingham Palace sandcastle bucket at West Wittering beach. The end result is a scale model sandcastle of King Charles’ official London residence, which measures 3ft wide by 0.8ft high by 0.6ft deep and contains 3-4kg of sand. It could very easily be mistaken for a professional sand sculpture!
Originally known as Buckingham House, today’s palace was formerly a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, before it was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John
Nash and Edward
Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard.
The sandcastle bucket, which was modelled around the original palace design, contains
760 windows and four gates. The finished sandscape scene created by Levi also includes figurines of both King Charles and Queen Camilla in front of the
palace.
The prototype mould
was specially commissioned by easyJet Holiday’s to celebrate the King’s upcoming Coronation, with plans to produce further sandcastle buckets
dependent on consumer demand.
The ceremony, which falls on May 6th,
is the first to be held in over 70 years and as such Brits will be given May 1st and 8th off as extra bank holidays.
But, it seems not everyone will be using the day to head down to London, throw street parties or wave Union Jack flags from their windows.
Instead, the vast majority of Brits
plan to take advantage of the double bank holiday and have planned a trip abroad, with over half booking a holiday at a favourite destination
of the royal family such as Malta or Corfu.
The study also revealed that holidaymakers will be planning to celebrate the Coronation from a beach bar (23%), by a swimming pool (15%), in a British
pub (15%) or on a beach (13%).
Whilst many are keen to take advantage of the double bank holidays over half of Brits have planned their trips around
destinations and resorts that will be screening the Coronation, with
a third reserving tables at local bars to ensure they secure a prime view of the event on a big plasma screen.
In addition, a third plan to eat at a British pub or restaurant on May 6th to commemorate the day, and a further 1 in ten plan to book a table once they arrive at their holiday destination.
And, as no Royal celebration is complete without a few token party mementos, many will be taking it upon themselves to bring a taste of home with them whilst away. 38% plan to take
their favourite English Breakfast Tea, 28% plan to take Union Jack flags and 21% will be adding red, white and blue bunting to their luggage. All in a bid to welcome the new King to the throne.
However, avid King Charles fans will be taking it one step further and plan to pack a portrait of King Charles III in their luggage (15%) alongside a King Charles III Coronation
mug (13%) to celebrate this historical moment.
Garry Wilson, CEO of easyJet Holidays comments: “With so many Brits keen to celebrate the Coronation whilst on holiday either from beaches, swimming pools
or resort bars we wanted to create our very own tribute to King Charles III by immortalizing his official London residence Buckingham Palace out of sand.
“We are thrilled that little Levi was given the opportunity to test our new prototype sandcastle bucket on West Wittering beach and we can’t wait to see
how our customers who will be on holiday this weekend embrace the festivities around the coronation.”
To celebrate the King’s Coronation easyJet Holidays is launching its ‘Holidays Fit For A King’ summer promotion, which is available in selected 5-star hotels, across 66 beach and
city destinations. All packages include flights, accommodation, 23kg luggage per person, and transfers on beach holidays.
