Is Queen Elizabeth the original influencer? The Kardashians have nothing on the British monarch who gave a royal stamp of approval to Jaguar, Aston Martin and Cadbury

Jul 10 , 2021

Queen Elizabeth: the original influencer? Photo: @theroyalfamily/Instagram

We all know the queen isn’t like the rest of us. Being one of the most recognised people in the world and a member of a family with a genealogy that stretches back over a 1,000 years (to Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons), she holds a number of powers which range from the sublime to the downright bizarre. Here are a few ...

The queen is the ultimate influencer

The British monarch has been granting the royal warrants since the 15th century, which are often taken to meet products and services of the highest quality. Photo: PA Wire

Think the Kardashians are the first and foremost in the world of celeb endorsements? Think again! British monarchs, and those authorised by them, have been recognising quality products and services supplied to the royal households in the form of Royal Warrants of Appointment. Awarded since the 15th century, receiving the royal nod means reaching the pinnacle in one’s industry or profession.

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Chocolate major Cadbury received its first Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1854. Photo: @CadburyWorld/ Twitter

Cadbury, Twinings, Bollinger, Fortnum & Mason, Heinz, Tanqueray Gordon & Co and Schweppes are just a few of the famous food and drink brands that have received warrants, whilst you’d be in royal company if you use anything from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Boots, Paragon China or even Yardley of London.

She appoints the Poet Laureate – and pays him with sherry

Ted Hughes was the last Poet Laureate to enjoy a lifetime appointment in the position. Photo: AP Photo

One of the queen’s prerogatives is the appointment of the Poet Laureate. The post is awarded to a poet whose work is of “national significance”. The current holder of the position is Simon Armitage who, in part payment for his services to the crown, is entitled to a barrel of sherry! He most recently penned a poem to mark the passing of the queen’s husband, Prince Philip.

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She declares the parties open

The state opening of parliament is marked by pomp and pageantry and is steeped in tradition. Photo: PA Wire

The opening of parliament is a great affair in Britain dating back to the late 14th century, filled with pomp, circumstance and pageantry. From the queen riding to the Palace of Westminster in the Irish State Coach, to entering the House of Lords bedecked in all her finery, the affair is steeped in tradition.

Interestingly, one power in relation to her parliament that the queen does not have is the power to enter the House of Commons, where the elected representatives of the British people sit. Ever since King Charles I entered the house in 1642 with armed guards to arrest sitting MPs, no monarch has been allowed in the chamber. That is why the queen commands the members to attend her in the House of Lords.

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She can pardon criminals

Queen Elizabeth granted a posthumous royal pardon to Alan Turing over 60 years after his conviction for “gross indecency” in 1952. Photo: @deductioniis/Twitter

As with most heads of state, the queen does hold the power to pardon criminals, known as the “royal pardon”, but as with many of her powers, she doesn’t use this particular one too often, preferring to leave the granting of pardons and clemencies to her government ministers. In 2013, however, a special case did arise that saw Queen Elizabeth grant a posthumous pardon to Alan Turing (the subject of the film The Imitation Game), the World War II codebreaker who was convicted of “gross indecency”.

Move aside, King Triton

A law defining whales, sturgeon, dolphins and porpoises caught within 5km of the UK shores as royal fish was passed in 1324, making all such creatures property of the monarch. Photo: AFP

Thanks to a law dating all the way back to 1324, the monarch technically owns a large amount of the creatures in Britain’s oceans. This includes all the dolphins, sturgeon, whales and porpoises, which are designated as “royal fish”. According to the law, when such animals are caught within 5km (three miles) of the UK’s coastline, they may be claimed on behalf of the Crown.

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She can swan around

The annual Swan Upping ceremony counts swans along the River Thames where royal servants and permitted owners catch swans, check them for marks, and release them. Photo: AP Photo

And it’s not just the seas the queen holds dominion over. When it comes to swans, she’s the queen of them too! In law, all swans in unmarked open water belong to the sovereign, although, according to the royal family’s website, the queen only “exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries”. Even today, there is an annual ceremony held on the River Thames called Swan Upping, in which the birds are caught and tagged for the purposes of a census.

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Royalty

The queen can award Royal Warrants of Appointment to quality products like Tanqueray and Bollinger, and grant royal pardons like she did for Alan Turing
She is also queen of swans in the River Thames as well as ‘royal fish’ – dolphins, whales, porpoises and sturgeon caught within 5km of the UK coastline