Royal Appointment Warrants To Be Issued

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27664, 21 May 1955, Page 7

Royal Appointment Warrants To Be Issued

[Specially Written for the N.Z.P.A. by CYRIL F. J. HANKINSON, editor of "Debrett.”] (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, May 20. Now that the Queen has completed three years as Sovereign, it is expected that very shortly a list of Royal Warrants of Appointment to Her Majesty will be issued. As it is traditional that goods must be supplied for a period of not less than three years before a warrant is granted, it has not been possible for the Queen to bestow this highly-prized distinction until now. Although since the death of King George VI there have been no warrant holders to the reigning Sovereign, there have been, nevertheless, about 900 of the leading firms in Britain, and a few overseas, who are holders of warrants, consisting of those who held appointments to King Geprge VI, and previous sovereigns, dating back as far as King Edward VII, to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, and the Duke of Windsor, when Prince of Wales. Warrants to all these have been valid for the new reign, provided the person to whom they-were made out is still living and engaged in the same line of business. A list of them has been published in the London Gazette in January of each year. The firms holding these warrants for the most part operate in Britain, but there are manufacturers and tradesmen in Canada and other foreign countries who have been honoured. The services for which warrants are granted cover a very wide range, and include appointments as diverse as those of chimney sweep, playing cards manufacturer. Edinburgh rock manufacturer, pyrotechnist, weather vane maker, bagpipes maker, purveyor of potted shrimps, and horse milliner. Until fairly recently, a purveyor of that delectable dish, the lamprey pie. figured in the list. The history of the Royal Warrant holders goes back a long way, and the first appointments are believed to have been made in the reign of. Queen

Elizabeth I. The number of warrants granted in those days, .however, is known to have been very few, and although King Charles II considerably extended his Royal patronage, it was not until the reign of Queen Victoria that anything approaching the present dimensions and organisation was reached.

It was only three or four years ago that the last of the old Queen's warrants ceased to be valid, as the procedure is that if a firm does not receive an appointment to a new sovereign, the warrant for the previous reign may be extended. This accounts for the fact that there is still one warrant holder to Edward VII and a considerable number to King George V and King George VI. A warrant holder may, of course, hold several warrants, as he could, for instance, be appointed to the Sovereign and to the Queen Mother, or he might have held an appointment to the Duke of Windsor when Prince of Wales; but he cannot hold at the same time existing warrants to more than one Sovereign. This means that now that the Queen is issuing her warrants, all those receiving them who held warrants to her father, or any previous Sovereign, will have them cancelled, although, of course, there will be no objection to it being stated that they held warrants to King George VI or any of his predecessors. Naturally in making the appointments to Her Majesty, the greatest care has to be taken that all firms honoured supply goods of the best quality and are of the highest integrity. The Queen is advised in the matter by the Lord Chamberlain, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, the Master of the Horse, and the Master of the Royal Household. At one time tradesmen were sworn in on appointment, being, amongst other things, required to promise that they would not under any circumI stances offer or connive at the offering of any bribe to the Sovereign’s ser- ] vants, but this practice has now ceased

long since. It is. however, understood that any warrant can be terminated at any time by the Sovereign, if an individual or a firm is guilty of commercial misconduct.

In view of the fact that many firms manufacture or sell a considerable variety of articles, some of which might not come up to the same standards as those supplied to the Royal Household, strict rules are in force to ensure that it is made clear what goods are covered by the warrant. By this wise restriction, the possibility of a firm which produced one high-class article marketing other inferior ones in such a way as to suggest that they too were under Royal patronage is avoided. Valued Privilege The most valued privilege which a warrant confers, apart from the high prestige which it carries with it, is that of being permitted to display the Royal Arms over the premises from which the business is conducted and on stationery, and other items. The displaying of the Royal Arms must always be accompanied by the words “by appointment" At present, apart from the Queen, the only person by whom new warrants can be issued is the Queen Mother, as the conferment of Royal Warrants is confined to kings and queens and the Prince of Wales. Later when Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall, has been created Prince of Wales and is old enough to have his own establishment, he too will appoint tradesmen to his household and issue his warrants, as did his great uncle, the Duke of Windsor, when he was heir to the Throne.