Royal Wedding Legal Document Made In Newport Pagnell

1 May 2011, 06:00

Heart's been told a piece of calf skin - which the Queen signed to say she was happy for Prince William to marry Kate Middleton - is durable enough to last for thousands of years.

On February 9th, 2011 The Queen signed something called an Instrument of Consent to show her approval of the union. Monarchs are required to formally approve the marriage of their children and direct descendents of King George II under the terms of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

In the case of Prince William's marriage, the Instrument of Consent was written and illuminated on a piece of Calf Skin Vellum that had been produced at William Cowley in Newport Pagnell. The company, which is the only vellum maker in the country and has been trading for 141 years, supplied the blank document to the Crown Office.

After it had been signed by the Queen is was sealed with the Great Seal of the Realm and will be handed over to Prince William and his new wife.

Paul Wright is the General Manager at William Cowley and told Heart:

"They sent a guy down to come and select from our vellums. Cowleys are known to be the finest vellum producers in the world. So there were two reasons why they came here. We're the only [vellum makers] in the UK, but we do make the finest. And it was a very nice vellum they selected I have to say."

"We're very staunch Royals here - we love the Royal family. And it's a massive, massive boost, not only to us as a company and to the guys that work here, but to Newport Pagnell and the very, very small world of parchment and vellum making. We're over the moon."