An Irish company have been listed on the annual royal gift list after the Prince of Wales was gifted Lottie and Finn dolls on behalf of Princess Charlotte and Prince George of Cambridge.
There was great news for the Donegal toy company Arklu last week when royal officials released the list of presents formally received by the Royal Family and Irish-designed dolls Lottie and Finn were included as gifts to Prince Charles’ grandchildren, Princess Charlotte and Prince George.
Prince Charles met with company representatives when he visited Donegal last year and the company’s managing director, Ian Harkin, presented him with Lottie and Finn dolls on behalf of his Grandchildren. Gifts that make the royal list cannot be sold or exchanged and eventually become part of the Royal Collection, which is held in trust by the Queen for her successors.
The award-winning wholesome dolls, that were developed in collaboration with scientists, parents, children and play experts, are based on nine year old children and focus on childhood adventures. In fact Stargazer Lottie takes adventure so seriously that she is currently on route to Utah in the United States, to take part in a Mars Martian simulation with Dr Niamh Shaw and the crew of Mars Mission 173, which began on the 14th of January.
Lottie Dolls have achieved several other significant milestones, including a major partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, a publishing deal with Penguin Books and winning Google’s 2016 Adopt a Start-up Award. The company employs ten people in its Donegal headquarters, and hope to double that figure this year after securing a one million euro tax relief investment.
Great to see a real Irish redhead reaching for the stars (literally) – go Lottie!
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