King Charles and Queen Camilla have issued almost 400 companies with royal warrants ahead of Christmas.
Royal warrants are awarded to suppliers of goods to the royal household and senior members of the royal family.
The latest batch includes a diverse range of companies, from heritage craft makers, to clothing suppliers, the royal rat catcher and Queen Camilla’s hairdresser. It also includes a swathe of food, drink and household goods brands.
John Lewis has been awarded a royal warrant for the first time as an official supplier of household goods and furnishings.
A couple of its stores have previously held individual warrants. For example, its Oxford Street and Reading stores were awarded warrants by Queen Elizabeth II, while Peter Jones previously held a warrant for the late Queen mother, the Duke of Edinburgh and Charles, when he was Prince of Wales.
“It’s a proud moment to be recognised by His Majesty with his royal warrant,” said John Lewis executive director Peter Ruis.
“For 160 years, we’ve been focused on offering excellent customer service and the highest-quality products, and the royal warrant is testament to the hard work of partners across John Lewis and our suppliers.”
Renewed warrants
King Charles has also awarded warrants to 386 companies which previously held the warrant for his late mother Queen Elizabeth II. These include fmcg companies like Bacardí-Martini, official “suppliers of Martini Vermouth”, Kellogg’s for cereals, and McIlhenny as the official supplier of Tabasco hot sauce.
Other businesses to receive renewed warrants from the King include: Tiptree jam maker Wilkin & Sons, alcoholic beverage company Diageo, savoury biscuit brand Ryvita, wholesaler Bidfood, smoked salmon supplier John Ross, ham producer DukesHill, London dairy supplier Foodspeed and high-end grocer Partridges.
The Wilkin family has been farming at Tiptree, Essex, since 1757, and making preserves there since 1885. Wilkin & Sons received its first royal warrant from George V in 1911, with each subsequent monarch awarding it with one since.
“We are honoured and proud that His Majesty has granted us his warrant,” said Wilkin & Sons chairman Walter Scott.
“Every member of staff understands the importance of this and we are delighted to continue this tradition.”
Diageo, meanwhile, has been granted five royal warrants for Justerini & Brooks as wine & spirits merchants; Johnnie Walker; Royal Lochnagar for scotch whiskies; Tanqueray Gordon & Company as gin distillers, and The Pimm’s Company. Each previously held a royal warrant to Queen Elizabeth II.
Dan Mobley, global corporate relations director at Diageo, said: “It is a great privilege to supply our products to the royal household, and with the granting of these five new royal warrants to HM The King, we will display His Majesty’s royal arms on these brands with immense pride.”
Ryvita will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2025, which made the honour “even more significant”, it said.
“It has been an honour to serve the royal household since the reign of King George VI, and this recognition is continued proof of our commitment to making high-quality, delicious crispbreads which are loved by customers from all walks of life,” said Ryvita marketing director Vicky Cojeen.
Bidfood first received its royal warrant as a purveyor of grocery, provision products and frozen foods in 2000. The wholesaler’s executive director Andrew Kemp said he saw the accolade “as a testament of our dedication to delivering service excellence at the core of our business”.
For John Ross CEO of Christopher Leigh, it was “a true honour to continue this tradition in service to the King”, after having held the royal warrant for for 30 years during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
Foodspeed CEO Bobby Bawa said: “We are exceptionally proud and truly honoured to have received this news, which means so much to us and all of our staff and suppliers.”
Meanwhile, DukesHill’s CEO Mark Gallagher was “incredibly proud and truly honoured to receive the royal warrant from His Majesty The King”.
“As we approach our 40th anniversary, it is wonderful for our team to be acknowledged for our unwavering dedication to quality, provenance and welfare,” he said.
Partridges owner John Shepherd said: “On behalf of all of the staff at Partridges I am absolutely delighted to announce that we have been awarded a Royal Warrant as Grocers to His Majesty The King.
“This is an incredible honour and we are thrilled to have been supplying the Royal Family for over thirty years.
“We are sure that all of our customers will be as excited about this announcement as we are.”
King Charles awarded his first tranche of royal warrants in May, with Waitrose, Fortnum & Mason and Twinings making the list, along with wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd, Cornish vineyard Camel Valley and cheesemaker Charles Martell.
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