Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of the royal warrant; thus lending prestige to the supplier. Royal families of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Denmark, Sweden, and Japan among others, allow tradesmen to advertise royal patronage.
Suppliers having a royal warrant charge for the goods and services supplied; a royal warrant does not imply that suppliers provide goods or services free of charge. Royal warrants are typically advertised on company hoardings, letter-heads and products by displaying the coat of arms or the heraldic badge of the royal personage issuing the royal warrant. Warrants granted by members of the British royal family usually include the phrase "By Appointment to…" followed by the title and name of the royal customer, and then what goods are provided; no other details of what is supplied may be given.
Royal warrant holders of the Court of Australia:
Hardy Brothers
In Belgium the title of 'Purveyor to the Court' (Gebrevetteerd Hofleverancier van België/Fournisseur breveté de la Cour de Belgique) is granted to businesses who provide services or goods to the royal court. The list of 'purveyors to the Court' is updated every year. The king himself makes the decision who gets a title or not.
Some of the 'Purveyors to the Court' include:
Armani
BMW Belgium Luxembourg
Brussels Airlines
Côte d'Or
Delvaux
Godiva
Jules Destrooper
Leonidas
Mercedes-Benz Belgium Luxembourg
Natan Couture
Purveyors to the Royal House of Bulgaria:
Ballarino (Cavour, Italy) – jewellery (honorary title granted by H.M. King Simeon II)
Purveyors to the Royal Danish Court:
Purveyors to the Imperial Household Ministry; after World War II, the permission system was abolished, but purveyors still exist today:
Miyamoto Shoko – silverware
Gekkeikan – sake
Kikkoman – soy sauce
Nissin Foods – food
Toraya Confectionery – Wagashi
Toyota – motor vehicles
Manyoken – catering
Yamada Heiando – lacquerware
Koransha – ceramic ware
Kuni – perfume
Otsuka Shoe – Shoe
High Patronage of the Monaco Royal Family:
Chocolaterie de Monaco – chocolates
British Theatre Season, Monaco – theatre
Lexus – automobiles
Netherlands
Purveyors to the Nederlandish Court:
The status 'purveyor to the court' (hofleverancier) is awarded to small and medium-sized businesses that have existed for at least 100 years, and who have a good reputation regionally. They need not actually supply goods to the court. The status is renewable every 25 years. At present there are at least 387 companies who can hold this status.
For large, multinational enterprises and for non-governmental organizations the use of the designation koninklijke ("royal" in Dutch) can be awarded. These enterprises are also allowed to incorporate a crown in their logo. Examples are KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, KPN, Royal Dutch Shell, Royal Philips Electronics, and Royal Vopak.
Augarten porcelain – porcelain and china
J. A. Baczewski – vodka
Bakalowits – crystal chandeliers
Matthäus Bauer – accordions
Jan Becher – herbal bitter
Lucas Bols – liqueurs
Ignaz Bösendorfer – pianos
Christofle – silverware
Courvoisier – cognac
Demel – chocolate and confectionery
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Franz Joseph I (1872)
E. Fessler – ovens
Móric Fischer de Farkasházy, owner of Herend Porcelain Manufactory – porcelain
Café Gerbeaud – cakes and pastries
Gräf & Stift – carriages
Hancocks & Co – jewelry
L. & C. Hardtmuth – ovens and pencils
Antoni Hawełka – catering
J. A. Henckels – knives
Hotel Imperial – catering
Liebig's Extract of Meat Company – processed meats
J. & L. Lobmeyr – crystal and glassware
Löblich & Co. – heating
Lohner-Werke – carriages
Girolamo Luxardo – apéritif and digestif
Rémy Martin – champagne
Moët et Chandon – champagne
Moser – glass and crystal
Ferdinand Mülhens, owner of the 4711 (brand) – perfume
G. H. Mumm – champagne
Paulaner Brewery – beer
Pauly Beds / J. Pauly & Sohn – beds and mattresses
Peek Freans – cookies
Pilsner Urquell – beer
Rieger Orgelbau – organs
Louis Roederer – champagne
Royal Worcester – porcelain
Eduard Sacher, owner of the Hotel Sacher – cakes and pastries
Robert Schlumberger von Goldeck – sparkling wine
Schweighofer – pianos
William Steinway – pianos
Baron Raimund von Stillfried – photos
Gebrüder Thonet – furniture
Michael Thonet – furniture
Charles Lewis Tiffany – jewelry and silverware
Törley – sparkling wine
Underberg – digestif bitter
John Thomas Underwood – typewriters
Veuve Clicquot – champagne
Nathaniel Wheeler – sewing machines
Wilhelm J. Sluka – cakes and pastries
Zwack – herbal liquors
Purveyors to the Court of Bavaria:
See Liste bayerischer Hoflieferanten (German).
FA Ackermanns Kunstverlag – art publishing (1879)
Eilles – coffee and tea (1873)
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Ludwig II (1872)
Fr. Ant. Prantl – printing and leather goods (1797)
Purveyors to the Brazilian Imperial Family:
Casa Granado – chemists/pharmacists and toiletries
Henry Poole & Co – tailors to Pedro II (1874)
Purveyors to the Court of France:
Moutard – printer and bookseller to Queen Marie-Antoinette, to Princess Marie Joséphine of Savoy, and to Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy (1770–1792)
Marc-Etienne Janety – master goldsmith and jeweler to Louis XVI (1777–1792)
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Napoleon I (1811) and to Napoleon III (1867)
Debauve & Gallais – chocolates to Louis XVIII (1819)
Guerlain – eau de Cologne to Napoleon III (1868)
Purveyors to the Italian Royal Family:
Acqua di Biella – eau de Cologne to Umberto I (1878)
Ballarino (Cavour) – jewellery to S.A.R. the Prince Amedeo of Savoy, patent n° 01/07
Baratti & Milano (Turin) – sweets
Bianchi – cars
Caffarel (Turin) – chocolate
Caraceni (Milan) – clothes
Fratelli Carli (Imperia) – olive oil
Farina Gegenüber – eau de Cologne to King Vittorio Emanuele II (1876)
Florio (Marsala) – wine
Gancia – wine
Gentilini (Roma) – food (biscuits)
Marinella (Naples) – ties
Martini & Rossi – liquor
Musy, Padre & Figli (Turin) – jewellery
Pernigotti – chocolate
Petochi (Rome) – jewellery
Prada (Milan) – leather goods, trunks and clothes
Saiwa – food (biscuits)
Sperlari – food (biscuits)
Steinway & Sons – pianos
Luigi Borrelli (Naples) – clothing
Purveyors to the sultans of the Ottoman Empire:
M. Welte & Söhne, orchestrions (1896)
Abdullah Frères, photographers (1863)
Purveyors to the Portuguese Royal Household:
Farina Gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Luís I (1866)
Confeitaria Nacional – confectionary to Luís I, Carlos I, Manuel II (1873-1910)
Purveyors to the Court of Prussia:
See Liste preußischer Hoflieferanten (German).
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1841), Wilhelm I (1871), to Friedrich III (1888) and to Wilhelm II (1888)
Purveyors to the Romanian Royal House:
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Carol I (1881)
Steinway & Sons – pianos
M. Welte & Söhne – orchestrions, reproducing pianos (1894, 1910)
Murfatlar SA – wines to Michael (2003)
Frottirex – bath towels and bedding to Michael (2005)
Doina Levintza – clothing and accessories to Michael (2005)
Dan Coma – clothing and accessories to Michael (2005)
Halewood International – Rhein extra sparkling wines to Michael (2006)
SC Transavia SA – chicken meat to Michael (2005)
Principal Company SA – Salonta sausage products to Michael (2007)
Biborţeni – mineral water to Michael (2008)
Carol Parc Hotel – Hotelier and catering services (2011)
RUE DU PAIN – Boulangerie Artisanale – bakery, pastry and confectionery products (2011)
Purveyors to the Russian Imperial Family:
Farina gegenüber – eau de Cologne to Nicholas I 1843
Fabergé – jewellery to Nicholas II
Smirnoff – vodka
Cristal – champagne
Steinway & Sons – pianos
Gubanova Toiletries of Morshansk Russia appointed in 1763 with a Royal Warrant by Empress Catherine II to provide special cleaning and skincare products
The Victoria Fine Soap Works, Minsk, Belarus – soap to Nicholas I and the Imperial family
Royal Warrant Holders of the Yugoslav Court:
Sljeme (Zagreb) – trunks and leather goods, appointed in 1931
