The family responsible for the thousands of uniforms to be worn during the King’s Coronation say they are honoured to be involved.
Staff at Kashket & Partners will be hard at work until just hours before the ceremony, expecting new orders or to fine-tune garments.
The Coronation of the King and Queen will see the largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years when it takes place on May 6. More than 6,000 men and women of the Armed Forces will take part at Westminster Abbey.
Kashket & Partners is the London-based firm responsible for creating every item of uniform for the event.
The company is run by Nathan Kashket, 25. He is the fourth generation of the family to head the firm, Britain’s leading manufacturer of high-quality uniforms for ceremonial, parade and formal wear.
Their main base is in Tottenham where 75 members of highly trained staff such as seamstresses, material cutters and embroiderers work. Some of them have worked for the company for nearly four decades, with many starting as apprentices.
It holds the contract to provide military uniforms throughout the year for the Armed Forces. It was also behind the uniforms worn at other royal events, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and weddings of Princes William and Harry.
But Mr Kashket told the Standard that the Coronation was the biggest job the firm had taken on, adding that plans for creating up to 8,000 items of clothing for the event had been in motion for almost nine years.
He says that within two weeks of starting work at the family firm aged 16, he was told about Operation London Bridge, the preparation for the Queen’s death, and Operation Golden Orb, the coronation of the next monarch.
“When whispers started last year that the Coronation would be in May time, we knew we were in for a very busy Christmas. It has been frantic,” he said.
Mr Kashket said in normal circumstances the firm was contracted to take six to eight weeks to create a uniform. However, their team can produce something in as little as two days for a big event like the Coronation.
Mr Kashket said: “There are so many highly-skilled people involved. Almost every piece of military uniform you see is made by us. But this is a new level.”
He added that the role was the “biggest honour of my career. We are so delighted to be a part of it. It is a huge responsibility but I could not be more proud.”
The family will be the focus of a BBC documentary, Coronation Tailors: Fit for a King, on May 3.
