Marvel partners with King Charles III for new art-driven merch line (no, not that artwork)

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The United Kingdom's King Charles III has been in the art news lately for a striking portrait of him by Jonathan Yeo, but that's not the only art news coming out of Buckingham Palace - he is also partnering with Marvel Entertainment for a series of officially-licensed Marvel merch featuring young people from underrepresented backgrounds in the UK.

This is being done as part of King Charles III’s charity, The Prince’s Trust. Not only does this give budding designers the chance to work with one of the most popular brands on the planet, but Disney has cut a decent check to the charity along the way.

The products in question range from hoodies, phone cases, and prints that cover a solid selection of characters and eras from Marvel’s history. The Jubilee top is cute as heck, while we’re seriously tempted to grab the Shattered Retro Avengers T-Shirt. The fact that each product was designed by someone who might not have otherwise had the chance to do something like this is a bonus.

This partnership between Marvel and the Prince’s Trust included a week of mentorship from Marvel’s creative design team, giving the young people insight into product lifecycle and design principles, eventually allowing them to take their own products to market. Kiara, the 19-year-old behind the Shattered Retro Avengers shirt that caught our eye, said “This experience has broadened my scope of what’s out there. I learnt that there is an actual role titled ‘Creative’ – you can be paid to be ‘creative’ – which is brilliant.”

Not only has Marvel worked with young people on product design, but Disney has donated £300,000 over the past three years to the Prince’s Trust so they can provide similar opportunities to underrepresented people across the UK. This is certainly the kind of team-up we love to see.

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