Ten spots to shop like royalty in London

Thought it was just shops and boutiques that made the roster? The Goring is one of two hotels in London to claim top-drawer patronage (The Ritz London has a warrant from The Prince of Wales, but only The Goring has one from The Queen herself). Rubbing shoulders with Buckingham Palace, The Goring is where the Queen Mother enjoyed her weekly Eggs Drumkilbo for lunch, where Kate Middleton spent the night before her wedding to Prince William and where innumerable royal events, birthdays and anniversaries have been toasted.

The legendary maison has enjoyed its own royal fling, too, becoming known as “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers” (Edward VII said it first). The king was also Cartier’s first British monarch patron, ordering 27 tiaras for his Coronation in 1902. Two years later, the jeweller bagged its first official Royal Warrant from British royalty. More than a century down the line, Cartier jewels would be seen by tens of millions atop Kate Middleton’s head at the Royal Wedding in the spring of 2011. Glitzy.

Truly the Joanna Lumley of Royal Warrant holders, Penhaligon’s is all darlings and dandies, curiosity and cheek. Legendary scent-maker William Penhaligon started the perfumery in the late 19th century, quickly becoming ‘Barber and Perfumer’ to Queen Victoria’s Royal Court. These days, the spritzy store (there are a tonne of outposts here in the UK) has two Royal Warrants to its sweet-smelling name and counts Kate Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker among its famous fans. Top tip: book a free fragrance profiling session in store to find your match.

Everyone’s favourite, poshest shop, founded in 1707, is famous for its wicker hampers and 150 different teas, but there’s much more to it than that. Fortnum and Mason of Piccadilly also invented the Scotch egg, was the original stocker of Mr Heinz’s baked beans, and shipped beef tea to Florence Nightingale and her patients during the Crimean War. The two Royal Warrants to its name are from HM The Queen and The Prince of Wales, with the former said to enjoy the strawberry and Champagne preserve at Christmas time.

How, in 1863, does a young Cornish shoemaker in Australia tailor a pair of riding boots for the then future king of England? It’s one of the biggest mysteries in shoemaking folklore, but John Lobb (who moved to the Gold Coast after being rejected from all of London’s major shoemakers) managed it. It even snagged him a Royal Warrant, which has stuck ever since (plus a few more warrants along the way). The shop on St James’s Street (often called London’s most beautiful) is where the likes of Frank Sinatra and Lord Olivier came for their bespoke loafers, Derbys, buckle boots and more.