Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 20 Cents 2011, KM# 1566, Australia, Elizabeth II, Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
  • 20 Cents 2011, KM# 1566, Australia, Elizabeth II, Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Description

The Royal Australian Mint issued in 2011 the latest commemorative coin to mark the Royal Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton. The wedding took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom.

Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding; organisations and hotels held events across Canada, over 5,000 street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom, and one million people lined the route between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. The ceremony was viewed live by tens of millions more around the world, including 72 million live streams on YouTube. In the United Kingdom, television audiences peaked at 26.3 million viewers, with a total of 36.7 million watching part of the coverage.

Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2011
IRB

Reverse

Depicts the soon-to-be-wedded couple in a partial frontal pose looking toward the right and smiling broadly. Miss Middleton appears to the left of Prince William, and a single rose is set within a circle just under the couple.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. He is second in the line of succession to the British throne, after his father. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth "Kate"; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982) is the wife of Prince William.

Engraver: Vladimir Gottwald

20
HRH PRINCE WILLIAM -
MISS CATHERINE MIDDLETON

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 11.31 g
Diameter 28.52 mm
Thickness 2 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Australian Mint (RAM)

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