Fruit bowls and disco balls: Staffordshire artist illustrates unusual tribute to the Queen

A disco glitter ball, a bowl of fruit and a bird cage are just some of the imaginative headpieces a fictional Queen tries on as she searches for the perfect 90th birthday crown.

That’s the plot of commemorative story ‘The Birthday Crown’, produced in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday and illustrated by Staffordshire artist Kate Slater.

The story, written by Davide Cali, will be published next month by Royal Collection Trust to mark the real Queen's 90th milestone.

The tale opens with birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace in full swing but the right crown for the special day still needs to be found.

The royal jewellers, gardeners and other staff make suggestions, from a fruit headpiece and a bird cage, to the disco ball and a crown in the shape of a fairground carousel.

At the end of the story, the Queen's grandson comes up with the ideal solution - a paper crown that he has made himself.

Slater's use of a three-dimensional collage technique brings the story and cast of characters to life.

She suspends the characters and other objects from wires to build up the images which are then photographed with the wires removed from the final picture.

Slater was brought up in rural Staffordshire and still works from a studio in the county.