Where does the Queen buy her brooms? And, where does she get the pet food for her beloved Corgis? If you’ve ever wondered where Her Majesty does her shopping, now you can find out.
From pest control to clothing, products that hold a Royal Warrant from The Queen have been helpfully detailed in an interactive map, so now you really can shop like a monarch.
While obvious companies such as Waitrose and Fortnum and Mason are also accredited, a new interactive map created by firm Esri UK reveals the more unusual companies which have the Queen’s seal of approval.
The map shows nine categories of Royal Warrant holder including building & maintenance, food & drink, homes & household goods, agriculture & animal welfare, clothing & accessories, antiques, art & conservation, horticulture & gardening services, transport & storage and other.
Some of the 749 companies which have claimed the prestigious warrant include Shield Pest Control, in London, A. Nash handmade brooms, in Tadley, Hampshire, and Guildford-based A. Hester – which lists emptying septic tanks among its services.
Others include scaffolding from Allen & Foxworthy, in Swindon, cyber security from Khipu Networks in Fleet, Hampshire and pet food from Armitage Pet Products, based in Nottingham.
While chimney sweeps may be considered a thing of the past, the Royal Family has several fireplaces in their palaces, and therefore use the services of Milborrow Chimney Sweeps of Crawley Down, West Sussex.
In terms of food shops, Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London, Partridges food shop in the Kings Road, Chelsea, London, and Waitrose are the selected destinations.
However, if you can’t afford to visit these locations, there several brands you can add to your shopping list to make your groceries more regal.
The Queen’s preferred gin brand is Gordon’s and champagne suppliers include Louis Roederer, Pol Roger, Bollinger and Mumm, all based in France, while Hildon bottled water, Britvic and Coca-Cola are the preferred option for soft drinks.
Her preferred brand of salt is Maldon and for jam, her choice is Wilkin & Sons. United Biscuits, which owns McVitie’s, Jacob’s and GoAhead!, are her chosen supplier for savoury and sweet snacks.
When it comes to her overseas groceries, the carbon footprint conscious Royal has just four other countries outside of the UK which supply Buckingham Palace with special items.
The Queen is pictured browsing the aisles in one of her selected food shops, Waitrose. She is seen here at a branch in Dorset in 2016
Prince Charles is also a fan of the shop and is pictured during the same visit. Other shops the Royals prefer to visit include Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, London, Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London and Partridges food shop in the Kings Road, London
Princess Margaret is pictured at opening a new Sainsbury’s supermarket in Bath in 1982. She is seen browsing the apples
They include Harvey S.A. sherry, from France, Symington Family Estates Port, from Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago for the Angorusta Bitters and the Louisiana, USA, for Tabasco.
The ultimate seal of approval, Royal Warrants are granted by the Queen (634 granted), the Duke of Edinburgh (34 granted) and the Prince of Wales (165 granted), to companies who supply the Royal Household. To gain one, a company must have been supplying the Royal Household for a minimum of five years.
The Royal Warrant Holders Association was formed in 1840 but the history of the Royal Warrant can be traced back to medieval times, when competition for Royal favour was intense and the Monarch had the pick of the country’s best tradespeople. By the 15th century, the Lord Chamberlain, as head of the Royal Household, formally appointed tradespeople with a Royal Warrant of Appointment – a practice that continues to this day.
Professional services and government agencies aren’t able to apply, and goods and services provided to the Crown Estate, Historic Royal Palaces, the Duchies of Cornwall or Lancaster and Royal Parks do not qualify.
‘We created the map to see what geographical trends there might be with Royal Warrant holders as we don’t believe they have been mapped before. It’s an interesting way of visualising a large amount of data and instantly seeing any patterns,’ said Ben Flanagan, cartographer at Esri UK.
‘Mapping them makes it easy to see that the vast majority are UK companies. Greater London has the most suppliers with 204, followed by Norfolk with 50 and Berkshire with 35. The spread of suppliers is nationwide but with Buckingham Palace being in London, Sandringham in Norfolk and Windsor Castle in Berkshire, many are close to the main Royal residences.’
Despite Waitrose being Her Majesty’s go-to, Princess Beatrice prefers Sainsbury’s. She is pictured leaving a Mayfair branch with bags in 2009
Fortnum and Mason in London has the royal seal of approval
Welsh farmhouse apple juice is favoured by the Queen. Hildon bottled water, Britvic and Coca-Cola are the preferred option for soft drinks
Bollinger La Grande Annee champagne (left) and Angostura (right) are both endorsed by Her Majesty
You can have a taste of what it feels like to be the Queen with these Walkers shortbread. And they won’t break the bank, costing a reasonable £1.55
The Queen’s preferred brand of salt is Maldon (left) while the Royal family is also happy to endorse Laphroaig whiskey (right)