Kate Middleton Rumored to Be on the Receiving End of a Potential Billion Dollar Birthday Gift From King Charles: What Is a Royal Warrant?
Kate Middleton, surrounded by her immediate family, recently celebrated her 42nd birthday privately. However, the day did not go unnoticed by her father-in-law, King Charles. He is reportedly set to bestow on Kate a rare privilege few royal family members possess. Here are the details of a royal warrant and why a royal commentator believes this gift could be worth billions.
King Charles is reportedly setting in place a royal warrant for Kate Middleton: What does that mean for the monarchy?
Kate Middleton may be honored by King Charles for her dedication to the crown with a gift that allows for a rare privilege that few royal family members possess. Thus, a royal commentator believes Charles is close to issuing a royal warrant to the Princess of Wales.
Daniela Elser of News.com.au believes that this royal warrant could elevate Kate Middleton’s profile to one of the most recognizable faces in the world. Once given, these royal family members are allowed to give their approval to chosen brands and suppliers.
A royal warrant’s worth would be in the billions for Kate Middleton. Holding such a title means Kate could endorse specific products, putting them in the spotlight.
The warrant enables senior royals to allow companies that provide them with services to use their coat of arms. That can be displayed on their business premises, products, packaging, stationery, advertising, and vehicles.
The Princess of Wales’ placing her seal on a brand or product could amount to a staggering amount of revenue. Elser believes that with this, Kate could become the world’s most powerful influencer ever.
Why is a royal warrant so important?
Per the royal family’s official website, a royal warrant allows a family member to give their approval to a particular good or service. If King Charles allows Kate Middleton to grant royal warrants, she will be one of a handful of senior royals with this privilege.
The website explains that the ruling monarch decides who may grant Royal Warrants. They are known as the Grantors, and the website reports the king gives Royal Warrants. Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh were also once grantors of Warrants.
“There are currently over 800 Royal Warrant holders. They represent a huge cross-section of trade and industry, from individual craftspeople to global multinationals, ranging from dry cleaners to fishmongers, and from agricultural machinery to computer software,” the royal family website writes.
“There is no requirement for the company concerned to be British-owned or UK-based. Warrant-holding firms do not provide their goods or services for free to the Royal Households, and all transactions are conducted on a strictly commercial basis.”
A Royal Warrant is initially granted for up to five years. An official Royal Warrant Display Document is sent to the Grantee, which provides authority to use the Royal Arms.
As a royal warrant holder, Kate Middleton surpasses Princess Diana
If King Charles allows Kate Middleton to be a royal warrant holder, she will have achieved a status her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, did not. None of the King’s siblings can issue Royal Warrants, putting Kate in a rank even above senior royals such as Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
Another idea on the table is that King Charles might appoint Kate as a Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter, along with being a royal warrant holder. This is another royal distinction that Diana wanted but did not achieve in her years of royal family service,
The Royal Order of the Garter was founded by Edward I in 1348 during the Hundred Year’s War. Membership is a monarch’s most exclusive accolade for a senior royal.
This would place Kate among senior royals such as Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, and Princess Alexandra. Also included in the order are the Royal Knights, including Prince William, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, and the Dukes of Kent and Gloucester.
King Charles has not formally bestowed the title of royal warrant holder to Kate Middleton as yet. Her birthday is January 9.
