The royal superfan from Newport, South Wales, who owns some 9,000 items of memorabilia, says he has just received a message from fellow collector Anita Atkinson.

It's the night before Aldi releases their King Charles and Queen Camilla versions of Colin the Carrot, the supermarket's popular toy mascot, and Anita has already got her hands on them, sending Michael a photo of them among her collection.

"She's got them already, and I said how did you get those because they're not due in stores until tomorrow," he says, adding that he'll be going to his local Aldi tomorrow first thing to get his own set.

It will be added to his extensive collection, which includes a piece of Princess Diana's 30th birthday cake, a piece of cake from her wedding, and a piece of cake from the Queen's Diamond wedding event at the Savoy Hotel.

They're fairly rock solid after 30 years, Michael admits, so you probably wouldn't want to eat any of the slices of fruit cake.

He did, at one point, also own a slice of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's wedding cake but "gave it away".

"With all the controversy..." he says, trailing off, and moving back to discuss some of his favourite items.

A bottle of Coca-Cola from the 1981 royal wedding, a bag of crisps from the Golden Jubilee, an "occult jam, infused with a speck of Princess Diana's hair", and two cups and saucers from the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - found in a charity shop for a couple of quid.

"Everybody knows me in most of the charity shops," he says. "And they'll say to me, 'Oh we've just had this in'."

Young people 'turning their backs on the royals'

Michael is one of a small group of avid royal superfans. He doesn't hold the Guinness World Record for his collection (that honour goes to 56-year-old Anita), but he is unusual in one respect - unlike the rest of his fellow fans, he's only 39.

Polling done by YouGov around the time of the Platinum Jubilee found that just under half of young Britons (49% of those aged 25 - 49) think the monarchy is good for Britain.

This compares with 60% of those aged 50 to 64 and 74% of those 65+ who think having a royal head of state is a benefit.

"I don't really talk to my younger friends about them because there is no interest," says Michael.

"But my older friends, in their 60s and 70s, I'll speak to them instead."

And he says aside from gentle teasing between collectors - like him and Anita - it isn't really that competitive.

"Anita is very nice, as are the others," he says.

Meanwhile, Jan Hugo, the proud owner of Australia's largest royal collection, has also sent him magazines from her country to add to his growing stock.

His collection, he says, expresses his "pride to be British".

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A commemorative pork pie

One of his latest purchases was a commemorative pork pie, which Michael says he carefully unwrapped so he could preserve the packaging.

"I don't buy anything I can't afford, and it's never really extravagant," he says.

Despite being a royal superfan, his first trip to London only happened after the death of the Queen, when he visited the capital to lay some flowers and pay his respects.

But he wasn't impressed with the memorabilia on offer.

"They wanted £17 for a mug!" he exclaims.

And as for those that criticise his collection?

"Everyone has their opinion, and they can have their opinion but I don't care. It's my life and I'll do what I want to do."