April 13 – National Scrabble Day – marks the 75th anniversary of the popular tile game and to celebrate the occasion, and the forthcoming coronation of King Charles II, Mattel has created a special crown.
The crown is a replica of the St Edwards Crown which will be used in the May ceremony. Created by milliner to the stars Justin Smith of J Smith Esquire, it has one notable difference from the real thing – it is made using not just jewels, crystals, leather beads and more, it also features more than 300 Scrabble tiles.
The tiles spell out words such as ‘Royal’, ‘King’, ‘Coronation’, ‘MMXXIII’ the Roman numerals for 2023, and ‘Wordplay’.
It will be in display in The Entertainer’s store in Westfield White City in the capital.
“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.”
Justin Smith of J Smith Esquire
It’s the second time Scrabble has been used to mark a royal occasion, with the game’s 60th anniversary coinciding with the then Prince Charles’ 60th birthday, with a special portrait made of tiles being commissioned then.
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.”
Milliner to icons of stage and screen including Angelina Jolie, Emma Thompson and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, Justin sourced the Crown’s purple velvet fabric from Joel & Sons; the same couture fabric supplier used by the Royal family. The Scrabble Crown also follows the original St Edwards Crown in having four crosses-pattées, four fleurs-de-lis and two arches. In place of ermine fur, a faux-fur trim bedecked with miniature Scrabble tiles from the Travel Scrabble Edition encircles the base, and Scrabble tiles from the Deluxe and Original editions complete the intricate piece.
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. After 75 years, 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. We hope you too are sharing the fun beyond words of Scrabble today!”
