Royal Warrant
Royal Warrants | Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth II as issued in England, Wales and Northern Ireland |
|  | Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth II as issued in Scotland |
| | |
|
In the
United Kingdom, a
Royal Warrant of Appointment is a grant made by senior members of the
British Royal Family to companies or tradespeople who supply goods and services to individuals in the family. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending
cachet to the supplier. Several other royal families allow tradesmen to advertise royal patronage, including the ruling dynasties of the
Netherlands,
Denmark, and
Sweden.
Some 800 individuals and companies - including a few non-UK companies - hold more than 1,100 warrants to the British royal family. Suppliers must have had a trading relationship with an individual in the family for at least five years before they can be considered for a warrant. Warrants are awarded at the discretion of the
Lord Chamberlain, acting as the chairman of the Royal Household Tradesmen's Warrants Committee. Warrants are awarded for renewable terms of five years, though they can be revoked at any time; some warrants have been held for more than 100 years.
Suppliers continue to charge for their goods and services - a warrant does not imply that they provide goods and services free of charge. The warrant is typically advertised on company hordings, letter-heads and products by displaying the
coat of arms or
badge of the individual member of the family on whose behalf the warrant has been given. Underneath the coat of arms will usually appear the phrase
"By Appointment to..." followed by the title and name of the purchaser, and then what goods are provided.
The following is a list of some companies that provide, or have provided, goods to the British royal family:
*Aboyne & Ballater â€"
flowers*Alden & Blackwell â€" books
*Anderson & Shepard â€" tailors
*A & F Pears LTD â€" transparent soap
*
Aquascutum â€"
clothing*A Nash â€" brooms
*
Angostura Limited â€"
bitters*
Akzo Nobel â€" paints
*
Aston Martin â€" cars
*
Auto Glym â€" car care products
*
J. Barbour & Sons Ltd â€" outdoor waterproof wear
*
Benson & Hedges â€"
cigarettes (Withdrawn 1999)
*Bronnley â€" toiletries
*
Burberry â€" clothing
*
British Gas Services - Gas Lamp Lighting and Maintenance
*
Britvic Soft Drinks â€" fruit juice
*Calders and Grandidge - Preserved Timber Fencing
*Carr â€"
crackers*
Cadbury â€" chocolates/confectionery
*
Castrol â€" motor lubricant
*
Charbonnel et Walker â€"
chocolate*
Charles Frodsham and Co â€"
clocks and
watches
*Cobb of Knightsbridge â€"
meat*
Colmans of Norwich â€"
mustard*Cope & Timmins â€"
brass*Corney & Barrow â€"
wine*D R Harris â€" chemists
*Dacrylate Paints Limited â€" paint and decorative acrylics
*
Ede and Ravenscroft - tailors
*Fairfax Meadow Farm â€"
sausages*
Farina gegenüber â€"
Eau de Cologne*
Ford Motor Company â€" motor vehicles
*
Fortnum and Mason â€" groceries
*Frank Smythson â€"
stationery*Gallyon & Sons â€" guns
*
Gieves & Hawkes â€" tailors
*
Alexander Gordon & Co. â€" gin
*
Hatchards â€"
books*
Harrods (some withdrawn, others voluntarily removed)
*
Harvey Nichols â€" drapers
*Hayter â€" grass cutting equipment
*Hazlitt Gooden & Fox â€" arts & crafts
*
Holland & Holland â€" sporting firearms
*Howgate Dairy Foods â€"
cheese*
Jaguar Cars Ltd â€" Jaguar and
Daimler brand cars
*James Baxter & Son â€"
shrimp*James Cocker & Sons â€" roses
*
Jenners â€" furnishing materials
*
John Broadwood and Sons â€" pianos
*
John Lobb â€" bootmaker
*
Johnson Brothers - casual tableware
*
Land Rover â€" cars
*
Laphroaig â€" single malt Scotch whisky
*
Linn Products â€" entertainment (
hi-fi) systems
*Lock & Co. â€" hatters
*Mansour â€" antique carpets
*Malvern â€" bottled water
*
Penhaligon's â€" toilet requisites
*Petersfield Book Shop â€" picture frames
*Plowden & Smith â€" restoration services
*
Price's Patent Candles Ltd â€"
candles*R E Tricker â€"
shoes*R G Hardie & Company â€"
bagpipes*Spink â€"
auctioneers
*Spode â€"
china*
Stanley Gibbons â€" stamps
*
Suttons Seeds â€"
bulbs and
seeds
*
Tanqueray -
Gin*Tom Smith Group â€"
Christmas crackers
*Truefitt & Hill â€"
barber*
Twinings â€"
Tea and
Coffee Merchants
*
Waitrose â€"
groceries*William Crawford & Sons â€"
biscuits*William Sanderson & Son â€"
Scotch whisky*
Wolsey â€" clothing manufacturers.
*
Yardley â€" toiletries and personal products.
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne - 1872 to HM Kaiser Franz Josef I
*
Baczewski â€"
vodka*
Bösendorfer â€" pianos
*
Demel â€" cakes
*
Sacher â€" cakes
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Leopold II 1874
*
Neuhaus â€" Chocolates
*
Anthon Berg - candy
*
Carlsberg - beverages
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Christian VIII. 1847
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Willem III 1880
*
Veuve Clicquot â€"
champagne*Van Bommel â€"
shoes*Ekelund â€" towels (Ekelund has also provided towels to the
Emperor of Japan)
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne - 1874 to HM King Oscar II
*Gevalia â€"
coffee*
Läkerol â€" candy
*Marabou - candy
After WWII, the permission system was abolished, but purveyors still exist today
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM Empereur Napoleon I. 1811
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM Empereur Napoleon III. 1868
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Dom Luis 1866
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Carol I 1881
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Friedrich Wilhelm IV 1841
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Ludwig II 1872
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM King Vittorio Emanuele 1876
*
Farina gegenüber â€" Eau de Cologne to HM Tsar Nicolaus I 1843
*
Smirnoff â€" vodka
*
Royal Warrants explained on the royal.gov.uk website
*
The Royal Warrant Holders Association
