Luxury products fit for royalty is now available to discerning customers

A deep and satisfying fascinationwith royalty isn't new. The first king in the history of the world dates back to 2500 BC: attested directly from archaeology is the King of Kish, Enmebaragesi. His name was inscribed on an alabaster vase and found at the Sumerian city of Nippur - unearthed in today's Iraq. Since then, monarchies have been revered, hated, exulted and abolished. One of the remaining intrigues is the ancillary world that is executed around royalty - from royally appointed craftsmen to imperial court suppliers.

With the wedding of British Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the monarchy has a new generation of royal watchers across the world. "Everyone needs a dream, a fantasy - what better fantasy than to believe in princes and princesses and happily ever after," says Alicia Carroll, the owner of Everything Royal, a dealer specialising in royal family commemoratives and memorabilia. According to Carroll, the British royal wedding has spurred new energy in the elite brands that carry royal warrants and purveyors to royalty. And with 26 active sovereign monarchies in the world - ranging from kings, queens, sultans, emperors to emirs - reigning in more than 43 countries, there are a number of utterly exclusive craftsmen producing such splendour.