Tomorrow, May 6, King Charles III will have his coronation at Westminster Abbey. Toymakers are preparing for the occasion with exclusive merchandise.

Hornby, a UK toy and collectible company, is releasing a club-exclusive model train car. The Class 66 locomotive is a royal purple and features the British flag and a King Charles III nameplate with 6 May 2023 and “God save the king” written underneath. The train is available for £129.99 for Collector Club members now and is expected to ship in September.

Source: Hornby

Mattel is also commemorating the coronation with a Matchbox Collectors Coronation Gold State Coach. Matchbox first launched a version of the Gold State Coach for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when Lesney Products owned the brand. The money made from the original state coach replica funded the full launch of Matchbox.

Matchbox Designers looked at the original Coronation Carriage toy for inspiration. | Source: Mattel

“Not only is 2023 a pivotal moment in UK history, but it also marks an important one for Matchbox. Celebrating 70 years of rich design heritage, Matchbox is launching an exclusive Coronation Coach that evolves the brand’s signature craftsmanship while drawing on innovation and cutting-edge technology to write a new and exciting chapter in our history,” says Roberto Stanichi, Global Head of Vehicles, Mattel. “Being built to order, we expect this coach to be one of the most exclusive models Matchbox has ever created.”

The original Coach (left) and its 2023 counterpart (right). | Source: Mattel

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The Matchbox Collectors Coronation Gold State Coach is a 1:64 scale model of the 261-year-old coach that has played a role in every coronation since King George IV. The set features the Gold State Coach with fixed figurines of King Charles III and Queen Camilla inside and eight horses pulling it along. The horses can be removed from the coach for display. 

The Matchbox Collectors Coronation Gold State Coach is available until May 22 for $60 and is expected to ship next year.

About the author

Ashley Pelletier

Ashley Pelletier

Ashley is assistant editor for The Toy Insider, The Pop Insider, and The Toy Book with a Master's in journalism from Quinnipiac University. When she isn’t writing her latest story, she is reading a fantasy novel or rewatching one of her three favorite TV shows over and over again. She’s also a big fan of showing people pictures of her two dogs and cat.

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