A Royal Warrant is a document that lets a business which regularly supplies a royal household display the Royal Arms with the words "By Appointment to", followed by the name of the royal who granted it. It records a trading relationship, not a prize: the Royal Warrant Holders Association says it simply means the product or service is a preferred one, not that it is the best.
You will see the arms all over central London, above shop doors in St James's and Mayfair, on jars and tins in the food halls, on delivery vans and on shopping bags. Each one is a coat of arms with a line of text underneath, called the legend, saying which member of the Royal Family granted the warrant and what the business supplies. Reading that legend tells you far more than the arms alone.
This page explains how a business gets a warrant, what it does and does not mean, and why the arms changed on many shopfronts after 2022. For the shops themselves, our guide to London's oldest shops and our page on Savile Row and Jermyn Street are the places to start.
Royal Warrants at a glance
- Who grants them
- Members of the Royal Family chosen by the monarch, called Grantors
- Current Grantors
- The King; the Prince and Princess of Wales from 2026 (RWHA, November 2026)
- To qualify
- Supply the household for at least five of the last seven years, including the past 12 months
- Granted to
- A named individual in the business, the Grantee
- How long
- Up to five years, reviewed in the year before expiry
- What it allows
- Use of the Royal Arms and the "By Appointment to" legend, nothing more
- Cost
- Nothing, apart from an administration charge for holders who are not RWHA members
- How many
- Over 800 holders (royal.uk) or almost 650 (RWHA); the two official pages differ
How a business gets one
The rule is about supply, not reputation. The Royal Household's own page says a company can apply after it has supplied the household with goods or services for at least five years out of seven, including during the 12 months before applying. The Royal Warrant Holders Association adds that the supply must be continuing and significant, and ordered and paid for by the household of the Grantor. Applicants must also show an environmental and sustainability policy with an action plan.
Some things never qualify. Warrants are not granted for professional services, so there are none for banks, solicitors, insurance brokers, employment agencies or vets, nor for newspapers and magazines. Selling goods to the royal souvenir shops does not count, and nor does supplying the Crown Estate, Historic Royal Palaces, the Duchies of Cornwall or Lancaster or the Royal Parks. Those bodies are separate from the households that buy for the royals themselves.
The warrant is granted to a named person at the company, the Grantee, who is responsible for using it correctly. It usually lasts up to five years. The Royal Household Warrants Committee reviews every warrant in the year before it expires, and it may not be renewed if the quality or supply falls short. A warrant is also reviewed automatically if the Grantee dies or leaves, or if the firm goes bankrupt or is sold.
What the arms do and do not tell you
The Royal Household is careful about this. Its own page says a warrant gives the holder nothing more than a right to display the Royal Arms, and no right to claim or imply that it is the only supplier. The RWHA's answers are blunter still. The household also buys from businesses without warrants, warrant holders do not supply anything free, and all trade is done on a commercial basis.
So a warrant tells you three things: a royal household bought from this business regularly for years, recently enough to count, and was content enough to put its name to it. It does not tell you that a product is better than its rivals, that the King uses it personally, or that the royal family approves of the business in general. The warrant holder is not even allowed to say more. The RWHA notes that holders may not disclose details of what they supply beyond the wording of the legend.
Read the small print under the arms. The legend must name the Grantor, the business, what it supplies and its head office address. "By Appointment to His Majesty The King, Suppliers of Stationery" tells you exactly what the household buys there. A shoe shop whose legend says "Shoe Repairers" was appointed for mending shoes, not making them.
The rules on display, and the law behind them
The Lord Chamberlain's Rules govern where the arms may appear: on products, packaging, stationery, advertising, premises and delivery vehicles. The arms must always appear with the legend. A business that loses its warrant is normally allowed up to 12 months to change its packaging and stationery and to take the arms off its buildings and vans.
Using the arms without permission is not just bad manners. Section 99 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 says nobody may use the Royal Arms in connection with a business, or anything closely enough resembling them to deceive, in a way calculated to make people believe the business is authorised. Breaking that rule is a criminal offence. A separate subsection covers any device, emblem or title used to suggest that a business supplies the monarch or another member of the Royal Family. Either can be stopped by an injunction brought by someone authorised to use the arms, or by the Lord Chamberlain's authority.
That law is why you can trust the arms more than most claims in a shop window. A souvenir stall that prints a crown on its carrier bags is not claiming a warrant; a shop that puts the full Royal Arms over its door with "By Appointment" underneath is making a statement the law protects.
What changed after 2022
A warrant belongs to the person who granted it. The RWHA explains what happens when a Grantor dies: the warrant becomes void, but the business may usually go on using the arms for up to two years, provided nothing significant changes in the company. The Royal Household reviews warrants when the monarch changes.
Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022, and with her went every warrant she had granted, the largest group by far. Businesses that wanted to keep the arms needed a new warrant from the King, and the first warrants of the new reign were issued after the coronation. Some long-standing holders were not reappointed, and their arms came down at the end of the grace period; others held the King's warrant from his years as Prince of Wales and carried on. The same rule had applied to the Queen Mother's warrants after her death in 2002, and to the Duke of Edinburgh's after his in 2021.
The second change came in 2026. The RWHA announced that the King has appointed the Prince and Princess of Wales as Grantors, each beginning to grant warrants from 2026, with applications open in May and June. Over the next few years more shops will show their arms, with legends naming them.
Why some shops show two or three sets of arms
Each Grantor has separate arms, and a business holding warrants from more than one shows each set with its own legend. Before 2022 a shop on Jermyn Street might display the Queen's arms, the Duke of Edinburgh's and the Prince of Wales's three feathers in a row above the window. Today the usual sight is the King's arms alone, sometimes alongside older carved or painted arms that have become part of a historic shopfront.
That last case can mislead. Not every royal crest you see on an old building in Mayfair and St James's is a current warrant. Some are decoration, some are left from a warrant of another reign, and some belong to the building rather than the business now trading inside it. The legend, with the Grantor's current title, is what shows a live warrant. The RWHA keeps a searchable directory of current holders on its website if you want to check.
"Purveyors to the Royal Family" on a menu or souvenir proves nothing. Only the Royal Arms with a "By Appointment to" legend reflects a warrant, and section 99 of the Trade Marks Act exists to stop businesses implying a royal connection they do not have. Treat any looser royal claim on a tourist shop's sign as marketing.
Where you will see them in London
The densest cluster is around St James's: Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, the old shirtmakers, hatters and perfumers of Jermyn Street, several of which carry the arms, and the bookshop next door to Fortnum's that our bookshop guide describes. Some tailors on Savile Row and jewellers and silversmiths around Bond Street show them too. Our guide to Bond Street and Mayfair shopping covers that end.
Further afield, the arms turn up on tea, biscuits, marmalade and gin in the food halls and on everyday brands in supermarkets, because the households buy ordinary goods as well as luxury ones. They are also on vans: a delivery van with the arms on its side belongs to a holder, which is often the first warrant a visitor notices.
For a visitor buying presents, a warrant is a reasonable signal that a firm is long-established and reliable, and the packaging makes a good souvenir in itself. It is not a guarantee that the item suits you or is better value than the shop next door. Our page on London souvenirs worth buying and our guide to tea and coffee to take home give more practical advice.
The history in brief
The Royal Household traces royal patronage of tradesmen back to the Middle Ages, first as charters to guilds, later as individual appointments. Its own history mentions a supplier appointed under Henry VIII to serve the court with swans, cranes and wildfowl, and a 1789 list of court tradesmen that included a pin maker, a mole taker and a rat catcher. The Royal Warrant Holders Association began in 1840, when "Her Majesty's Tradesmen" gathered to mark Queen Victoria's birthday and decided to make it an annual event. It is incorporated by Royal Charter but is not part of the Royal Household; it advises holders and handles the paperwork for new applications. Its office is at 1 Buckingham Place, a few minutes from Buckingham Palace.
Frequently asked questions
What does "By Appointment to His Majesty The King" mean?
It means the business holds a Royal Warrant granted by the King, because it has supplied his household regularly for years. The legend under the arms names the goods or services supplied. It is not a quality award, and the Royal Household also buys from businesses without warrants.
Do Royal Warrant holders supply the royal family for free?
No. The Royal Warrant Holders Association says all business is conducted on a commercial basis, and the Royal Household's own page says the same. Warrant holders are paid for what they supply like any other supplier, and the warrant itself costs nothing to hold.
What happened to Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Warrants?
They became void when she died in September 2022. Under the usual rule, businesses could keep displaying her arms for up to two years if nothing significant changed. Holders that wanted to continue needed a new warrant from the King, and not all received one.
How long does a Royal Warrant last?
Up to five years. Every warrant is reviewed in the year before it expires and may be renewed for another period of up to five years. It can also be cancelled at any time, and is reviewed if the named Grantee leaves or the business is sold.
Can any shop use the Royal Arms?
No. Section 99 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 makes it an offence to use the Royal Arms in connection with a business in a way likely to make people think it is authorised. Only warrant holders may display them, under the Lord Chamberlain's Rules.
Sources
- The Royal Family - Royal Warrants (checked November 2026)
- Royal Warrant Holders Association - Frequently asked questions (checked November 2026)
- Royal Warrant Holders Association - HM The King appoints The Prince and Princess of Wales as Grantors of Royal Warrants (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - Trade Marks Act 1994, section 99 (checked November 2026)