Queen's palace charity pulls replica swords and pistols as shop 'can't check buyer's 18'

dailystar.co.uk:

the Queen's palaces because it has no way of checking that buyers are over 18.Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), which looks after the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace, sells swords online that have blunted edges and antique-style pistols that look the part even if they’re not fireable.But they’re not for sale to under-18s, and the administrators of HRP’s website say that they have no way of checking whether buyers are old enough.One mum, whose son was stabbed to death five years ago this month, says she can’t understand why anyone would want to buy a full-sized sword – or why Royal Palaces would sell them.Michelle McPhillips says that even though the swords aren’t sharp, they could still “cause damage”.“If this was plunged into somebody it could kill them quite easily,” she told the Daily Mail, “and if they were play fighting with the sword as well, that is when an accident could happen.“No-one needs these sort of weapons as presents or as toys,” Michelle added. “There must be plenty of other stuff that they can sell showing our history rather than a sword.”HRP sold three full-sized replica swords, at prices ranging between £180 and £225.

There are still full-sized suits of armour for sale on HRP’s website for around £2,000.HRP no longer lists the weapons on its website.

The only sword still on offer is a small plastic one.A spokesperson for Historic Royal Palaces said age verification had been used to make sure the items had only only sold to over 18s.They stressed: “These are historical replica items, for ornamental use only.

We make this very clear on our website.“They are manufactured blunt and come with safety warnings. They cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 18.”.