THE PIECES are all falling into place for the owner of a West Devon jigsaw shop which has been selling two 1,000-piece Coronation special design puzzles.

Howard Owen, who owns Owens Models and Jigsaws in Tavistock, said his two puzzle designs, by the well-known companies Gibson and Falcon, are selling well: ‘They have been selling better than my other jigsaws, mainly to my regular customers.’

The jigsaws needed to be in the shops before the historic event and therefore, posed a challenge for the makers as to how they would portray an event which had not yet taken place, but needed to be as attractive and realistic as possible.

The puzzles were then available for sale from February, which meant planning, designing and marketing needed to take place early last year.

The two major jigsaw manufacturers approached this issue in two ways. One jigsaw is a compilation of the King’s life in photographs, including as a boy, a young prince and married to the Queen consort on royal duties, backed up by generic images of a crowning and of the golden coach. The second puzzle shows an illustration of what the Coronation was expected to look like in Westminster Abbey.

Howard also sells new playing cards featuring the new King.