King Charles III: Welsh businesses await Royal Warrant decision

Welsh businesses holding a Royal Warrant await a decision as to whether a new monarch will mean a change to their status.

The Warrant is granted as recognition for companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to senior members of the Royal Family.

There are more than 800 Royal Warrant holders, according to the Royal Family.

One business owner said he thought "the King is very keen to support small Welsh businesses".

Welsh Farmhouse Apple Juice was awarded a Royal Warrant from the then Prince of Wales - now King Charles III - in 2015.

The Morris family started the business in Crickhowell, Powys, in 2006.

As well as producing 30,000 bottles of apple juice a year from their own orchards, they also hand press and bottle apples and pears from the royal gardens at Llwynywermod and Highgrove.

John Morris said: "A few years after starting the business, I was contacted by someone who asked if I could come and identify some trees in their orchard.

"We went to this farm, and it had a fantastic orchard with some very old Welsh varieties in it, and I thought it was a bit strange and not a normal farm.

"At the end of the tour the manager told me this was the Prince of Wales - now King Charles III's - farm.

"I was told he'd tasted my apple juice and liked it, so we were asked if we would press his apples.

"Since then, we have been pressing apples from his farm near Llandovery and also from the orchards at Highgrove."

The honour of holding a Royal Warrant dates back to the royal charter of the 12th Century, and companies can only be awarded one after they have been regular suppliers to the Royal Household for a number of years.

Once accepted, warrant holders can display the royal coat of arms and the words "By appointment".

Royal Warrants become void following the death of the monarch, but brands can display the coat of arms for two years.

John's son David said: "The King has visited our farm, he stepped out of a very nice car onto the yard of our small family-run business and it did feel surreal.

"He was very informed about what we do and was interested in hearing about the process, it was a very proud day for the family."

John added: "He knows about the policies behind agriculture, particularly the environmental and organic side.

"We've been an organic farm for many years and I think that's why he took to us."

David said: "The King got us into producing pear juice because he likes pears, and in the walled garden at Llwynywermod they have pear trees of different varieties.

"I said, we've never done pear juice before but we'll give it a go and it's been a real hit.

"We can't make enough of it as it's not the most common compared to apple juice and orange juice. It's very sweet but we make it in a way that it's not sickly. "

The late Queen, the late Duke of Edinburgh and also the Prince of Wales, were the only members of the Royal household who could grant a warrant.

In 1989, Corgi Socks, based in Ammanford, was awarded a Royal Warrant by the then Prince Charles.

They have made socks for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh as well as the new King.

Speaking with Claire Summers on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, managing director Chris Jones said: "It's a great honour, a mark of quality.

"If the King or Queen is wearing our products then they must be good."

"We did a show called the Coronation Festival in Buckingham Palace, so we had a stand. [King Charles] turned up at the show, the first stand he came to was ours and turned to all of the press and said: 'These guys make the best socks in the world'.

"You can't get publicity like that - superb."

He added: "He's actually designed a range of socks, we call it our regimental range. Each pair of socks matches one of his regiments.

"When he turned up at the factory and he got out of the car, the first thing he did was pull his trouser leg up and show us he was wearing Corgi socks."

Jen Jones, of Welsh Quilts and Blankets, was also awarded a Royal Warrant by the Prince of Wales in 2015.

She began salvaging antique and vintage Welsh quilts and blankets more than 40 years ago.

Ms Jones said: "It is a great honour to hold the warrant. I love it because I was quite old when I got it and it felt like a real slap on the back.

"I feel he's done so much for Wales and that hasn't been given enough credit. Sometimes I hear on the news people call his estate in Carmarthenshire his holiday home, but it is far more than that.

"It's a real base for him and he runs his businesses from there when he's here. In his own inimitable way, he's changed people's lives for the better."

The Royal Warrant Holders Association have notified warrant holders they will be sharing guidelines when appropriate and say the future of Warrants will be reviewed by the Royal Household and cannot enter into speculation at this time.