The Royal Mint refused to produce a number of coins that celebrated the grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II because it believed that some of them had no 'completely positive public profile'.
The snub on the royal grandchildren, who include Prinsen William and Harry, is in documents obtained by the mail on Sunday through freedom of information laws.
The documents show that the Royal Mint advisory committee on the design of coins, medals, seals and decorations rejected the series of coins during a meeting on March 5, 2012.
The idea did not progress as committee members found that 'not all grandchildren have a completely positive public profile'. It is likely that the reluctance of the committee was due to a series of high -profile public controversies.
In 2002 it turned out that Prince Harry attended a drug rehabilitation clinic after he admitted that he smoked cannabis and was a minor. Three years later, after attending a costume party with a German Second World War -he apologized. A photo of the prince who wore the uniform appeared in newspapers around the world. In 2012 he was photographed naked at a swimming pool party in Las Vegas.
But Prince Harry was not the only grandchild ridiculous. In 2008, Peter Phillips was criticized for giving exclusive rights of Hello Magazine to his wedding for a reported £ 500,000.
The documents show that committee members also feared that the coins could be seen as 'artificial' and a 'PR stunt'.
The minutes stated that the series 'could be open to spot' because the children were not 'associated with interest in art and design'.
The Royal Mint refused to produce a series of coins that celebrated the grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II because it believed that some of them did not have 'completely positive public profile'
The snub on the royal grandchildren, who include Prince William (left) and Prince Harry (right), was obtained in documents by the mail on Sunday via Freedom of Information Laws
The Royal Mint 'collects and shares' proposals for commemorative themes with the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, which then decides which to accept. It is unknown whether this proposal came from the Royal Mint or a third party.
Queen Elizabeth II had eight living grandchildren in 2012. They are Prinsen William and Harry, the children of Princess Anne Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, Prince Andrew's daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Prince's Children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Count of Wessex. A spokeswoman for the Royal Mint said that she was “unable to confirm” to which of the queen's grandchildren were referred to “because he is not present in the minutes of the committee.”
Royal Biographer Andrew Lownie suspected the concerns of the committee aimed at Prince Harry, who had earned the reputation of hell by 2012.
He said: 'Prince Harry certainly had a bad press at that time. That said, I think that producing a coin to commemorate the queen's grandchildren is ridiculous. This should all be about the monarchy.
“I don't think people would have been rushed outside and bought the coins.
The Royal Mint then produced coins to celebrate the Hertog and Duchess of Sussex in 2018 and the 40th birthday of Prince William in 2022.
