Over 800 companies enjoy the right to display a royal crest and the words 'by appointment'. They range from a chimney-sweep to a maker of helicopters. The Royal Warrant has been a much-prized accolade to trade since the middle ages - but what's it for? Quentin Letts talks to the fixer of the royal microphones, the purveyor of the royal canapes and the supplier of the royal salmon-flies - not to mention the royal ratcatcher - and asks them why they're special.

Producer: Peter Everett. Show less