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Coronation toppers crown Yorkshire and Lincolnshire post boxes

Ben Cook/BBC Crocheted topper in Brough, East YorkshireBen Cook/BBC
A crocheted topper in Brough, East Yorkshire, features both King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort

Post boxes across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have been crowned with crocheted and knitted regal toppers to mark Saturday's Coronation.

Portrayals of King Charles III, the Queen Consort, royal guards and the Crown Jewels have been appearing in recent weeks in preparation for the ceremony.

Community groups and craft enthusiasts have spent hours preparing their unique designs to impress passers by over the bank holiday weekend.

The creative craze has boomed in the last couple of years, with woollen works often inspired by a theme, season or event.

Mandy Mullin Post box topper in ScarboroughMandy Mullin
An intricate and colourful topper was made in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, by Lee Appleby
Shirley Henry/BBC Topper in GrimsbyShirley Henry/BBC
A topper in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, proves you can pull the wool over the eyes of some royals
Lucy Ashton/BBC Crocheted King Charles III in Stannington, South YorkshireLucy Ashton/BBC
A content looking King Charles III soft toy was photographed in Stannington, South Yorkshire

Similar tributes appeared in May 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee and in September 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's death.

King Charles III and the Queen Consort will be anointed and crowned at Westminster Abbey in front of 2,300 guests and a global audience of millions.

Mary Cartmell Display in the village of Escrick, North YorkshireMary Cartmell
An unroadworthy but otherwise impressive carriage display in the village of Escrick, North Yorkshire, was created by Vicky Cumberland
Gunilla Hamilton Topper outside York supermarketGunilla Hamilton
A precarious King Charles III and others were spotted outside a supermarket in York
Kim Rayner Crocheted King Charles III in Leasingham, LincsKim Rayner
A crocheted King Charles III in Leasingham, Lincolnshire is surrounded by crowns

Photos of the designs are often shared in topper-themed social media groups by those whose heads are turned by the displays.

In Leeds, West Yorkshire, a wooden design formed part of a wider set created by the Pudsey Community Craft Group complete with 20 stained glass windows and roof tiles made from slate.

The group said it took 50 hours in total to construct, with materials donated by a local builders yard and red carpet from a fabric manufacturer.

Pudsey Community Craft Group Post box topper in PudseyPudsey Community Craft Group
A wooden topper which took 50 hours to create formed part of a wider display by the Pudsey Community Craft Group in Leeds, West Yorkshire

Kim Rayner, who created a topper featuring King Charles III in Leasingham, Lincolnshire "while watching the television", said she recently completed a second topper after four days of handiwork.

"My new year's resolution was to make one, so I made a Valentine's one for February, a spring chicken in March and April and then thought I could make a Coronation one for May after finding a knitting pattern of Charles and his ears online," she said.

"As Charlie is a soft toy we had to find a way of getting him to stand up in the wind, as people enter the Post Office in Leasingham they basically straighten him up!"

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