When you’re shopping in London, keep an eye out for one or two crests posted in front of shops.
That insignia, when paired with the the phrase "by appointment to...", represents an official royal seal of approval. Its presence means that the business counts a top-level member of the royal family as a customer and has done so for at least 5 of the past 7 years.
It's called a Royal Warrant, and the recognition has been around at least since Henry II made a deal with a weavers' trade guild in 1155. Earning a warrant can turn a business into a legend—and shopping where you find warrants usually means you're purchasing the absolute best of the best.
Warrants come and go, but they nearly always signify top-quality custom craftsmanship and studious attention to service. Cordings, a store that's still going strong on Piccadilly in London, supplied King George V with his waterproofed outfits for hunts. The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) fired his rifles with Holland & Holland, established 1835.
Elizabeth II, who was known for her affinity for gin, procured her favorite quaff from Tanqueray. Her preferred hotel was The Goring, a family-run lodging near Buckingham Palace that Frommer's also names one of London's best.
To earn the crest signifying favor from King Charles, vendors have historically had to abide by a sustainable environmental policy.
Once a business wins a warrant—and hundreds have done so, from chandelier makers to elevator repair experts—it’s uncommon to see the approval withdrawn, although it does happen.
Sometimes warrants are stripped in shame. To its eternal humiliation, the department store Harrods lost its seal in 2000, and Rigby & Peller, which had made Queen Elizabeth’s bras since 1960, was ejected in 2018 after the owner wrote a memoir that revealed too much.
Other times, warrants expire soon after their granter does. When the royal family member backing a warrant dies, businesses are permitted to display the expired warrant for a few years, but then it's got to be removed unless renewed.
Which members of the royal family have a Royal Warrant?
The reigning monarch always gets to choose who gets a warrant, so since 2020, the life passages of the Windsor family have precipitated a complete shake-up of the Royal Warrant list. Before that, there were three in effect: the one for the Queen, the one for her husband Prince Philip, and the one for king-to-be Charles, whose warrant at the time was the triple-plumed crest associated with his title at the time, the Prince of Wales. The Queen never granted Camilla a warrant.
Now that Elizabeth II has passed, King Charles III has risen to assume the top-level warrant of the monarch, and he recently bestowed a warrant on his wife, Queen Camilla.
Charles had a warrant while he was waiting to ascend to the throne, but Prince William, so far, has not been issued one—and the Crown doesn't usually explain why—so there are only two official Royal Warrants in effect in 2025.
Businesses are not allowed to display a Royal Warrant if they haven't earned one—although some stores hang authentic-seeming crests to fool undiscerning customers into falsely believing they have garnered royal favor.
Check the crests closely. Details matter. For King Charles, the authentic crest is bracketed by a lion and a unicorn, the traditional animals representing England and Scotland, respectively. Camilla's Royal Warrant crest includes a lion, a blue boar (officially, "a Boar Azure"), and a second boar's head on a shield—the porcine elements appear on the duchess's own Shand family crest.
King Charles and Queen Camilla's favorite shops
So far, Camilla only has 21 named vendors—such as Heirlooms for linens, Heaven by Deborah Mitchell for skin care products, Launer for leather handbags, and Philip Treacy for her fabulous hats and fascinators. Compare that to the hundreds of associations Charles has accumulated over the years. (Queen Victoria dispensed some 2,000 seals over her 63-year reign.)
Both Charles and Camilla agree on Smythson (inside both Selfridges and Harrods department stores in London) for stationery, Corney & Barrow for wine, and the beloved Fortnum & Mason (181 Piccadilly in London), established in 1707, for fine foods.
Which hotel receives the King’s preference? The Ritz, which is not the sort of place where common tourists are made to feel they belong—unless they've arrived to spend money on the hotel's mini industry of afternoon tea.
More distinguished retailers favored by King Charles: Prestat for his chocolates (14 Princes Arcade in London), Bendicks for his after-dinner mint chocolates, Anderson & Sheppard for his tailoring (17 Clifford St. in London), Lock & Co. for his hats (established 1765, 6 St James's St., London), Hatchards for his books (187 Piccadilly, London), Penhaligon's for his fragrances (locations around the U.K.), Charles Martell & Son for his cheese (click here for a store locator), and John Lobb for his boots (by appointment at 9 St James's St. in London).
To learn which other businesses are currently in good graces with Charles and Camilla, search the current warrant holders at www.royalwarrant.org. You'll also find some retired warrants listed at Wikipedia.
Frommer's London
This is London advice the way a friend would give it to you: fiercely opinionated, funny, and brimming not only with suggestions about what to see and do and what’s not worth your time. Whether you want to see Big Ben or the Harry Potter studios, Trafalgar Square or the V&A, London is a city wit...
Get the bookFrommer's London
This is London advice the way a friend would give it to you: fiercely opinionated, funny, and brimming not only with suggestions about what to see and do and what’s not worth your time. Whether you want to see Big Ben or the Harry Potter studios, Trafalgar Square or the V&A, London is a city wit...