Why Cadbury lost its royal warrant

Cadbury was granted its first royal warrant by Queen Victoria in 1854. It kept one, reign after reign, for 170 years. On 23 December 2024 it emerged that, under King Charles III, it would not have one any more.

What is a royal warrant?

Royal warrants have been issued since the 15th century to people who supply goods or services to the royal household. In the UK they are usually granted by the monarch, their spouse and the heir to the throne. The supplier still charges for what it provides; the warrant is a mark of recognition. Holders display the royal arms on their premises, packaging and labels, usually with the words by appointment to underneath. Losing a warrant does not stop a business trading. It simply means the crest has to come off.

What happened

Cadbury held a royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth II from 1955 until her death in 2022. Warrants issued in her name could go on being used for up to two years afterwards. When King Charles III published his first list of warrants as King in December 2024, Cadbury was not on it. Neither was Unilever, the consumer goods group. Other chocolate makers, including Nestlé, Bendicks and Prestat, kept theirs.

Cadbury was told by letter, with no reasons given. Buckingham Palace does not explain warrant decisions.

The Russia question

That did not stop people drawing their own conclusions. Earlier in 2024 the campaign group B4Ukraine had urged the King to withdraw warrants from companies still operating in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and it named Mondelez International, Cadbury's American owner, among them. Unilever was named too. There is no official link between the campaign and the decision, but the timing made headlines.

What Cadbury said

A Mondelez spokesperson said the company was disappointed to be one of hundreds of UK businesses and brands not to be given a new warrant, that it was proud to have held one, and that it fully respected the decision.

Why it stung

For many people, the loss of the warrant felt like one more chapter in a story that began when Kraft bought Cadbury in 2010. A company started by a Quaker grocer in Birmingham in 1824, and warranted since 1854, was no longer on the royal list, and its owners were in the United States. Read how that happened in how Cadbury was sold to Kraft, and whether Cadbury can still be called British in is Cadbury still British?.

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