The coronation of King Charles III will be cause for celebration for many (if a poll is to be believed, 75% of Brits will score this by going to the pub). It will have a different meaning, however, for the 800 or so societies that hold a royal mandate, as every time a monarch changes, all mandates are reviewed. At the time of this writing, the royal family had around 40 official drink purveyors with no fewer than eight champagne houses, ranging from Pol Roger and Bollinger to Krug and Louis Roederer. Only one The English winery – Camel Valley in Cornwall – is entitled to bear the royal coat of arms. (Perhaps the new king could start by giving the mandate to some other British wine?)
Veuve Clicquot’s Royal Warrant for the Queen Mother
It is therefore with astute timing that Veuve Clicquot – holder of the mandate since 1905 – lands in London next week with Solar culturea major exhibition celebrating its 250th anniversary, showcasing works by artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Chickpea Philips AND Rosie McGuinness inspired by the producer of the champagne house Madame Clicquot and an archive full of evidence of the brand’s long-standing popularity with British royalty.
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to order a direct shipment of Clicquot, in 1868, and the palace cellars were always well stocked with her favorite champagne. During a trip to France, according to her “courier” JJ Kanné, “wine was served at her table every day”. On another occasion, Kanné wrote to Clicquot asking for “one hundred bottles […] of your oldest champagne, not too sweet” – an indication that Victoria was very much in with the champagne trends of the time. It was the British market that pushed for the drier style that eventually became known as Brut. Clicquot was an early adopter of the Brut style and introduced the first known “vintage” champagne. Throughout the 20th century, the house produced a number of special cuvées to commemorate royal dates. (The latest was to celebrate Charles’ wedding to Diana in 1981.)
Artwork by Yayoi Kusama at the Veuve Clicquot exhibition © Amy Tang
By all accounts, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, loved a glass of Clicquot (or two). “You may tell your master that the 1928 Veuve Clicquot magnum was the highlight of the luncheon,” Rear Admiral Hickling wrote to Clicquot’s agent in 1947. “The Queen [Mother] in particular he was quite lyrical in his praise after two drinks. And Clicquot’s yellow label also featured frequently at banquets and lunches during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1959, during a pit stop at The Drake in Chicago, the monarch stocked up on Clicquot Brut – “chilled to her taste” – paired with caviar, cheese fondue, goose liver pâté and Chinese egg rolls. A royal cooking class on the go.
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