Where do the British royal family and households do their grocery shopping?

The British royal family dines on the finest foods country has to offer, prepared by some of the most skilled chefs and household staff in the land.

With several royal households to maintain, staff carefully and deliberately stock palace fridges and pantries throughout the year from a range of grocery sellers.

However, grocery shopping for the royals doesn’t happen at any old supermarket.

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Retailers need to receive a Royal Warrant to supply goods and services to the households of the monarch.

While royal staff are charged with grocery shopping duties, modern royals have been spotted popping into local outlets to purchase their own food.

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Let’s take a look at where the royal households do their grocery shopping, what the rules are, how often it is done and which royals locals are most likely to see pushing a shopping cart at one of the various outlets deemed appropriate.

The one supermarket with a Royal Warrant

After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022 and King Charles’ ascension to the British throne, the list of Royal Warrant Holders was reviewed.

Previously there were approximately 800 Royal Warrant Holders.

Under the rule of King Charles, that list has been reduced to 145, with a new list of Royal Warrant Holders published on May 13, 2023.

Waitrose is the only supermarket to hold a royal warrant from King Charles as of May 2024, and has a long history with the British royal family.

It is regularly referred to as the “royal grocer”.

Instead of gracing the aisles of their local Waitrose stores, it is more likely staff who run the royal residences place orders that are delivered directly to them.

Plant to royal plate

Royal properties also grown much of their own produce, with a ‘plant to plate’ philosophy in keeping with the King’s conservation and sustainability efforts.

Gardeners at royal estates including Hampton Court Palace and the Walled Garden at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens undertake these efforts on behalf of the royal family.

These two restored productive gardens still supply food for the palaces.

At Hampton Court Palace the kitchen garden cultivates a variety of fruit and vegetables.

These include peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, plums, soft fruits, and standard dwarf apples as well as herbs and vegetables.

Chickens are also kept at Hampton Court Palace, producing eggs for residents and locals.

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At the Walled Garden at Hillsborough, apple trees and a range of herbs can be found, as well as rare fruits such as citrus, pineapples and melons.

The property also runs a cafe, which serves produce grown at the estate.

Extra produce is sold in boxes to locals. Egg producing chickens are also kept at Hillsborough.

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Royal shoppers – and ordering in

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been known to frequent their local grocery outlets, before their move to London shortly after their marriage in 2011, and more recently at Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s in Kings Lynn while living at Anmer Hall.

In March 2024, following speculation as to the princess’ whereabouts, the pair were photographed and filmed picking up some items at Windsor Farm Shop near residents.

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When it comes to more exciting food deliveries, Princess Eugenie shared her experiences of ordering Deliveroo to Kensington Palace when her fridge was “sad” and empty.

During an episode of the Table Manners podcast in 2023, Eugenie described having her driver give her a call when the delivery arrived and she and husband Jack Brooksbank putting on pyjamas and driving to the gate of the estate to pick the delivery up.

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