Funko Pop! Figurines of the Royals and the Photos that Inspired them
Other Posts Relating to English Royal portrayals in The Crown
S3: 1 & 2: “Olding” & “Margaretology” 3: “Aberfan” 4: “Bubbikins, 5: “Coup” 6: “Tywysog Cymru” 7: “Moondust" 8: “Dangling Man” 9: “Imbroglio” 10: “Cri de Coeur”
S4: 1: “Gold Stick” 2: “The Balmoral Test” 3: “Fairytale” ( + Cinderella References) 4: “Favourites” 5: “Fagan” 6: “Terra Nullius” 7: ”The Hereditary Principle” 8: “48:1” 9: “Avalanche”
The Medals, Sashes, and Tiaras of The Crown; Tiaras/Crowns Overviews: Season 1 ; Season 2
Funko Pop! releases the most amazingly specific and niche figurines of various fictional characters from basically every franchise and popular commercial you can even comprehend, historical figures, and select modern celebrities. They’ve produced a few figurines of the English royal family over the years, although it looks like only the pink Queen Elizabeth figurine is currently available on their website. Most of these came out in December 2017, while the wedding Harry and Meghan and green/purple Queen figurines came out in December 2018.
As Funko Pop! noted in their December 2017 press release announcing the collection, “These products are our fun characterisation of the icons they represent, but they have not been endorsed or approved by any member of the Royal Family. They do not have any connection with and are not of a type supplied to any member of the Royal Family.”
I own most of these figurines and took detailed pictures of all the ones I had access to. I don’t have Prince Harry’s bachelor figurine, the red dress version of Princess Diana’s figurine, or the green and purple figurine of Queen Elizabeth.
Credit: Chris Jackson
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom
The pink Funko Pop! figure of Queen Elizabeth II shows her in a pink coat, dress, and hat with red feather ensemble that she’s worn on numerous occasions.
The Queen’s coats are commonly designed by her dresser Angela Kelly at this point, and I would guess this one is as well (I haven't been able to find the designer/maker's name anywhere). Her pink hat with red feather trim is by milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan. The dress peeking out from under the coat actually has red and pink color blocking, which you only really notice if you’re looking at it really carefully. I was delighted to see that the Funko Pop! figurine does actually include this element, as the little sliver of dress on the figurine is clearly red, not pink.
I tried to get close up photos of the brooch on the figurine, as the Queen really loves brooches and was hoping it would clearly match one of hers, but even with my macro lens, only managed to grasp a vague oval shape with some slight detailing, but not enough to really get a clear idea of the shape. After looking through every photo I could find of the Queen wearing this outfit (thanks to Royal Hats for keeping such brilliant track of her hats and outfits), my guess is that it’s likely meant to evoke the Tudor Rose Brooch that she wore for Christmas at Sandringham in 2014. From her Majesty’s Jewel Vault discusses this brooch more over here.
The figurine also sports a tiny white line around the neck which is barely visible under the head. This is likely meant to evoke the Queen’s string of pearls.
The Queen’s ever present Launer handbag is lovingly recreated in the figurine. She’s carried similar black bags from Launer throughout her entire reign. I’m not a handbag aficionado or expert, but by my untrained eye, it resembles the Launer Traviata. The Queen’s most commonly used Launer bags are discussed in depth in this article from Town & Country.
The figurine also sports the Queen’s ever-present Cornelia James gloves, which she wears at most public appearances (she shakes so many hands that it’s just a sensible precaution, even pre-COVID).
The matching brightly colored coat and hat look has basically served as a uniform for the Queen for the past few decades at royal events, and there are many memes dedicated to how consistent her look is. she said before that she specifically wears bright colors so that everyone can see her.
The pink edition also came with a corgi figurine, which appears to most closely match the lower left corgi in this 2016 Vanity Fair cover photo and farthest to the left in the Queen’s portrait with her corgis on the steps (both by Annie Leibovitz). This corgi is referred to as Willow in the Vanity Fair article. If so, this is a very poignant tribute, as Willow was the very last of the Queen’s corgis. She died in 2018.
Credit: WPA Pool
The green and purple Funko Pop! figurine of the Queen, which released December 3, 2018, is the same shape and set up of her pink one, but matches the color scheme of the light green and purple ensemble she wore to her grandchild Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in May 2018. This is a little odd as that outfit had numerous different details, including a different hat shape and trimming, a different fastening on the coat, a different brooch, and a multicolored dress underneath. The color scheme is quite distinctive though, and I don’t think she’s been seen wearing those colors on any other occasion. I’m guessing that while they were putting out a Duke and Duchess of Sussex set, they decided they might as well crank out a “royal wedding themed” version of the Queen using the same mold they already had used for the pink outfit. It’s a little sad actually; I would have love to see the actual trimming of that hat in plastic miniature form.
As for the Queen’s actual outfit at Prince Harry’s wedding: The hat was designed by the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly and made by Stella McLaren. The Queen’s pale green dress and coat were made by Stewart Parvin. She carried another Launer handbag, although I haven’t been able to pin down the exact style.
Credit: Shutterstock
Credit: Jeff Spicer
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles’s Funko Pop! figurine features him in an style he’s favored for decades - a double breasted suit with a floral buttonhole and a pocket square. This exact color combination seems to combine a few photos though, as I couldn’t find any that showed Charles in this exact outfit. This is a bit odd, as every other royal Funko Pop! figurine appears to be based on an exact outfit and often even an exact photograph, as the poses are usually emulated as well. (If anyone does manage to find a picture of Prince Charles that matches this figurine, please let me know!)
Charles is really consistent in his clothing brands, so if this is based off one or more photos of Charles, the figurine clothes likely are based off of a suit made by either Gieves & Hawkes or Anderson & Sheppard, shoes from Crockett & Jones, and a shirt from Turnbull & Asser.
The flower, interestingly enough, seems to resemble a remembrance day poppy.
Credit: Tim Graham
Credit: Everett/Shutterstock
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana’s Funko Pop! sports a black off-the-shoulder gown by Victor Edelston that she wore on several occasions, including when she famously danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985. The ensemble recreated in this figurine, however, echoes the specific outfit she wore on November 2, 1987 at a banquet in Bonn, Germany. She accessorized with the Spencer tiara, a sapphire and diamond jewelry suite which featured a necklace, bracelet, and earrings, and a black clutch.
The Spencer Tiara, as its name suggests, is owned by Diana’s family and parts of it date back to 1919. Diana and both her sisters wore the Spencer Tiara at their respective weddings. The Court Jeweller has more details and pictures of the tiara over here.
This dress is actually so famous that it has its own Wikipedia entry! Wikipedia says that the dress is actually midnight blue, not black, but it reads as black in all the pictures and is commonly described as black. When Diana sold her collection of gowns at Christie’s in New York in 1997 after her divorce from Prince Charles, the “Travolta dress” went for £100,000. All proceeds of the auction went to the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and AIDS Crisis Trust.
The suite of jewelry was given to Diana by the Sultan of Oman in 1986.
There is also an alternate version of this figurine which appears to be identical in the black dress one except that the dress and clutch are both red. I could not find any photos of Diana having this exact same dress in red, but she did have some vaguely similar dresses. Apparently her midnight blue gown was specially made for her after she saw the dress in burgundy in Edelstein’s studio, so this figurine may be a tribute to that story.
Credit: Chris Jackson
Credit: Getty
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
William’s Funko Pop! Figurine looks to match an outfit he wore on a three-weak tour of New Zealand and Australia in April 2014. His figurine sports a single-breasted navy suit, blue and maroon tie, white shirt, and medals, although he isn’t wearing a red flower like he did in real life.
He’s worn this outfit again since, in November 2018 at a remembrance festival. Apparently he’s worn that tie on and off since 2006; it’s actually in the colors of his old regiment, the Blues And Royals.
William’s watch is also quite visible in his figurine - this may be his Omega Seamaster Professional. It’s rumored that it was a gift from his mother, but I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere.
William’s medals commemorate his military service (in addition to the Blues and Royals, he also served in the RAF Search and Rescue). These medals specifically are the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Credit: WPA Pool
Credit: WPA Pool
Credit: Max Mumby
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Kate Middleton’s Funko Pop! recreates a Roland Mouret gown in royal blue that she wore on June 9, 2016 at a SportsAid event. She wore it with gold hoops and a clutch, which she carried in front of her much like is shown in the figurine. Her sapphire and diamond engagement ring, originally Princess Diana’s, is also visible on the figurine.
Kate often wears Roland Mouret dresses and has gravitated to sapphire blue outfits on multiple occasions. Kate is known for driving major sales to brands she wears in a phenomenon often called “The Kate Middleton Effect.” This effect has been seen in outfits worn by her sister-in-law Meghan Markle as well.
Her trademark voluminous brown waves are on display here as well, and are somewhat emulated in her Funko Pop! figurine.
Credit: Dave J Hogan
Credit: Samir Hussein
Credit: Anthony Devlin
Prince Harry (He was not given the title Duke of Sussex until he got married)
Prince Harry has the distinction of being the only royal with two entirely different Funko Pop! figurine looks. His December 2017 Funko Pop! figurine wore an outfit almost exactly similar to Prince William’s, except that he sports one more medal. This matches the outfit that he wore at the Dunkirk world premiere on July 13, 2017. In it, he’s wearing a blue and maroon striped Blues and Royals tie just like his brother’s. It appears that he’s worn it on many other occasions as well.
His medals specifically are: the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Afghanistan Operational Service Medal.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
A double portrait of Prince Harry and Prince William, 2009, Nikki Philipps
For his wedding on May 19, 2018, Prince Harry wore a frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals, which notably feature fabric braids down the front and red stripes on the side of the legs. Here, he’s wearing four medal ribbons: the K.C.V.O. (Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order), The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and Afghanistan with Rosette. He’s also wearing his Pilots’ Wing badge (above the ribbons) and the Star of the Grand Cross Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (below the ribbons). (Source: Royal Central)
Dege & Skinner made Harry’s frockcoat for the wedding, and also made the uniforms that both Harry and William wore for their official double portrait in 2009 (painted by Nikki Philipps). Dege & Skinner actually was originally only asked to make miniature frockcoat uniforms for the four pageboys at the wedding, but they offered to make Harry a new coat as well, so he accepted.
Harry’s choice to keep his beard even while wearing a military uniform was a little surprising, as military rules tend to ban facial hair while in uniform. However, since he’s not in active service, it was allowed, and really seems to indicate his desire to do things his own way.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Meghan’s Funko Pop! figurine, of course, features her in her famous wedding day look.
Meghan’s dress, made from silk cady and featuring a bateau neckline and three quarter sleeves, was designed by Claire Waight Keller at Givenchy.
While the dress was relatively simple, Meghan’s wedding veil featured embroidery of distinctive flowers from all 53 countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as flowers from her native state, California, and from the garden of Kensington Palace. At full length, it was five meters, almost 16.5 feet long! There’s a full list of all the flowers featured over at Royal.uk which is super fun to read through! Funko did a decent job trying to emulate the veil, considering their size and production restrictions, and you can kind of see that the different patterns are supposed to represent various flowers.
The Queen lent Meghan Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau to wear for the wedding. This tiara dates back to 1932 and features a centre detachable brooch from 1893. A lot of detail was lost in the figurine’s rendition of the tiara, of course, but there’s definitely enough there that you can easily tell what tiara it’s supposed to be.
Meghan also wore Cartier earrings and a bracelet. Her engagement ring is vaguely represented in the figurine, but not in any sort of detail.
The wedding bouquet included a variety of flowers, including a few that Prince Harry actually went out and picked from Kensington Palace’s garden. Forget-Me-Nots, his mother Diana’s favorite flower, were particularly featured. As is traditional for royal brides, the bouquet also included a few sprigs of myrtle picked from a plant originally grown on the Isle of Wight by Queen Victoria. The figurine includes a few of these details, but it doesn’t have as much detail or texture as the actual bouquet, of course.
