Re: By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Nov 13, 8:13 pm, Harold Johanssen <noem...@please.net> wrote:
>         Not being a native English speaker, this is something that has
> confused me for a long time:
>
>         In the label of many British products one can read the words
>
>         By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen
>
>         I take this to mean something like a seal of approval by the
> Queen (I may be wrong though - would the Queen get into this kind of
> thing?)
>
>         But, what is being appointed? Who is appointing it? Why "to". not
> "by" the Queen?
>
>         I have asked a number of Britons about this, and they just had
> never thought about it and were unable to give a satisfactory
> explanation. Perhaps somebody in this group, British or not, might know
> better?

This is more a question for alt.usage.english.

[pauljk]

"Peter T. Daniels" <gram...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:cbbec81d-914a-47fc...@l7g2000vbj.googlegroups.com...

Or google.

See: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2094547

<Quote>
This is a formal phrase* that providers of goods or services to the British royal
family are entitled to use. It identifies them as a merchant that the Queen and
her family have chosen, implying that their products are of the highest quality
(or, since they can afford the best, they would have chosen someone else).

In order to get a Royal Warrant, as permission to state that one is
"by appointment to ..." is called, the provider must have supplied goods
or services to the Queen (or the Duke of Edinburgh, or the Prince of Wales)
for at least five of the most recent seven years, including some business
within the last 12 months. It is then entitled to apply through the Royal
Warrant Holders Association. More information is on their Web site,
www.royalwarrant.org.
_________________________
*With regard to the preceding comment: formal phrases such as this in the U.K.
have often been used, without change, for centuries. They therefore may use
language that sounds archaic, even odd, to modern ears.
It is correct exactly as given.
<Unquote>

pjk

[bert]

On Wednesday, 14 November 2012 04:32:52 UTC, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> On Nov 13, 8:13 pm, Harold Johanssen <noem...@please.net> wrote:
> > In the label of many British products one can read the words
> >    By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen

> > But, what is being appointed? Who is appointing it? Why "to". not
> > "by" the Queen?

> This is more a question for alt.usage.english.

Occasionally, one sees the amplified form:
By appointment, suppliers of <product> to Her Majesty ...
--

[Don Phillipson]

On Nov 13, 8:13 pm, Harold Johanssen <noem...@please.net> wrote:

> In the label of many British products one can read the words
>
> By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen
>
> I take this to mean something like a seal of approval by the
> Queen (I may be wrong though - would the Queen get into this kind of
> thing?)

This page seems generally reliable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Warrant_of_Appointment_%28United_Kingdom%29
Companies that have earned royal warrants (as suppliers of
goods to the royal family, anything from limousines to teacups)
are free to display the warrant as advertising on their buildings,
delivery trucks and product labels. The system appears hundreds
of years old.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

The Royal Warrantm as it is known is awarded to businesses that supply
goods to members of the royal family.

From the Royal website:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/Royalwarrants.aspx

Royal warrants are granted to people or companies who have regularly
supplied goods or services for a minimum of five consecutive years
to The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh or The Prince of Wales.
....
Each of these members of the Royal Family can grant only one warrant
to any individual business, but a business may hold warrants from
more than one member of the Royal Family.

Advice on granting warrants ....

The warrants are a mark of recognition that tradesmen are regular
suppliers of goods and services to the Royal households. Strict
regulations govern the warrant, which allows the grantee or company
to use the legend 'By Appointment' and display the Royal coat of
arms on his products, such as stationery, advertisements and other
printed material, in his or her premises and on delivery vehicles.

A Royal warrant is initially granted for five years, after which
time it comes up for review by the Royal Household Tradesmen's
Warrants Committee. Warrants may not be renewed if the quality or
supply for the product or service is insufficient, as far as the
relevant Royal Household is concerned.
....
Warrant holders today represent a large cross-section of British
trade and industry (there is a small number of foreign names),
ranging from dry cleaners to fishmongers, and from agricultural
machinery to computer software.

Some firms have a record of Royal warrants reaching back over more
than 100 years. Warrant-holding firms do not provide their goods or
services free to the Royal households, and all transactions are
conducted on a strictly commercial basis.
....

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[Mike L]

I feel sure there used to be a pretty ordinary butcher's shop in
Bristol which claimed to be "By appointment to Her Majesty Queen
Victoria" generations after the warrant must have expired.

I think some of the other North European monarchies do it, too.
--
Mike.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

"Our most famous customer bought and ate our meat. She is now dead."

>I think some of the other North European monarchies do it, too.

--

[Robert Bannister]

My impression is that it is short for "by appointment purveyor of
[things] to Her Majesty the Queen", which is an awkward way of saying
"officially appointed to supply HM the Queen with [things]"


--
Robert Bannister

[Iain Archer]

bert wrote on Wed, 14 Nov 2012

I'm wondering what could be done to one if one opened a shop, calling it
perhaps Betty's Boutique, which stocked only goods bearing a copy of the
"By appointment" royal warrant.
--
Iain Archer

[Irwell]

'The Royal Shopping Guide' by Nina Grunfield gives a fascinating
history of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, plus detailed
accounts of the present day suppliers.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

This image is typical.
http://www.weldon.co.uk/piece/image/194/royal-warrant.gif

Under the royal crest are the words:

By Appointment
To Her Majesty The Queen
Suppliers of Hardwoode Flooring
Weldon, Norton Disney

Weldon is the name of the company. Norton Disney in Lincolnshire is
where it is headquartered.

It also has a royal warrant from the Prince of Wales.
http://www.weldon.co.uk/pages/1-Home

Norton Disney might have a connection with Walt Disney.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Disney

Norton Disney is the seat of the Disney family, the name an
Anglicised version of the original French surname d'Isigny, of
Isigny-sur-Mer, Normandy, from whom film producer Walt Disney's
family might be descended.[1]

[1]

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uncle-walts-lost-ancestors-1266622.html

Jon Winter went in search of the noble Disneys of Lincolnshire
....
Little in the library mentions Walt's visit to Lincolnshire, except
a back issue of a parish magazine.

"Walt Disney paid a visit, I believe to Norton Disney. What was not
made clear at the time was that he was the adopted child of a
Disney, and so had no blood relationship with the ancient family of
Lincolnshire Disneys."

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:22:03 +0000, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
<ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:


> By Appointment
> To Her Majesty The Queen
> Suppliers of Hardwoode Flooring

No, No! "Hardwood". My typo. The company will supply "recreated" antique
flooring but it isn't called "Ye Olde Woode Floore"

> Weldon, Norton Disney

[benl...@ihug.co.nz]

Wikipedia s.v. "Royal warrant of appointment" mentions a score of
countries that have, or have had, such a custom, including Thailand,
Japan and Brazil.

[Mike L]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:13:08 +0000, Iain Archer <m...@privacy.net>
wrote:

I think one would make a decent living on the right site, but it would
be tough to store all those packs of bumph, planks of wood, shotguns,
and buses.

--
Mike.

[Robert Bannister]

I thought Harrods and Fortnum & Mason did that ages ago.

--
Robert Bannister