One Champagne house left standing in Royal Warrant refresh

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 13 May, 2024

A number of Champagne brands could have fallen out of favour in King Charles III’s first Royal Warrant list after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

A total of nine Champagne houses including Champagne Bollinger and Champagne Krug held Royal Warrant status under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who granted a total of 686 royal warrants before her death in 2022.

In his first round of warrants since becoming king, King Charles has now begun to update the list to reflect the current tastes of the palace – with only Laurent-Perrier currently maintaining its title as a preferred supplier to the royal household.

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Applications are still open, so it is a possibility that other brands may be also awarded. The other Champagne producers will be nervously holding their breath to see if their lapsing warrants will be renewed, as warrants lend significant cachet and equity to brands.

Several other drinks adjacent businesses have been granted the first royal warrants from Queen Camilla. These include luxury department store Fortnum & Mason, Cornwall-based sparkling wine producer Camel Valley and wine merchant Corney & Barrow.

Berry Bros. & Rudd and Luscombe Drinks maintain their warrants. Laphroaig Scotch has also made the list.

Royal warrants are granted for up to five years and are bestowed to companies which are recognised for providing goods or services to the monarchy.

Brands are able to display the official Royal Warrant coat of arms on bottles and use the phrasing “By appointment to …” as part of advertising and communications.

The practice has been in place since the Middle Ages, when suppliers to the sovereign were given formal recognition in the form of royal charters. These were given collectively to various guilds in trades and crafts which later became known as livery companies.

In May 1840, a gathering of ‘Her Majesty’s Tradesmen’ held a celebration in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday. It was later decided to make this an annual event and an association which eventually became known as the Royal Warrant Holders Association was established.

Since the late 1800s, the British monarchy has awarded royal warrants to Champagne houses. Many of those are set to expire this year, unless King Charles renews them by September.

Alexandra and Stéphanie de Nonancourt, family owners and members of the management board of Champagne Laurent-Perrier, said: “We are deeply honoured to be granted the Royal Warrant from His Majesty the King. This accolade reaffirms our longstanding relationship with His Majesty which began when he visited Laurent-Perrier with Lord Mountbatten for the United World Colleges with our father back in 1979”.

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