One of King Charles' signature retail products seems to have narrowly avoided a major change on shelves. The royal's Highgrove Gardens store sells a splendid mix of organic foods – including a collection of marmalades, which is the spread that has stirred up a lot of attention over the past week.
Charles sells the beloved British spread in an array of different sweet and savoury flavours at his Highgrove Gardens store for £7.95. The organic spreads are uniquely named, such as the Highgrove Organic Blood Orange Marmalade, to reflect the flavours inside the jar. But as part of a new post-Brexit food deal to boost trade, it looked like Charles' collection of marmalades might have needed to tweak their extravagant titles and be sold as "citrus marmalade".
The agreement would see Britain readopt EU food regulations – which reportedly includes rebranding the popular spread and specifying the type of fruit on the label. But why is this the case? Well, the legal definition of marmalade is being widened across Europe.
© Chris Jackson, GettyBrussels has changed its labelling rules so that spreads with non-citrus fruits like plums, traditionally sold as jams, can be sold as marmalade starting from June. The previous European rules passed into UK law before Brexit meant that only preserves made from citrus fruits could be marketed as marmalade.
However, Charles' marmalades appear to be safe after all. According to The Guardian, a government spokesperson has confirmed that "British marmalade is not changing". They explained: "There is no requirement for retailers or producers to relabel orange marmalade as ‘citrus marmalade’, and jars on UK shelves will remain exactly as they are today."
"Many British manufacturers already meet international labelling standards voluntarily so their products can be sold overseas – this deal simply supports that trade by cutting unnecessary red tape with our largest market."
Charles' marmalade collection
From an onion flavoured spread to blood orange and a house marmalade recipe made with slices of Seville oranges, the royal stocks it all at his Highgrove Gardens store, which has a website and shop in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. According to the site, "whether it’s a traditional marmalade or crab apple jelly, all are perfection in a jar and made with the finest organic ingredients."
And Charles has even more delectable marmalade flavours for sale at the Royal Collection Shop, ranging from the 'Buckingham Palace Gin and Lemon Marmalade' to the 'Palace of Holyroodhouse Marmalade With Scotch Whisky' for £7.
Royals love marmalade
If having a collection of the spread wasn't a big enough hint, Charles has made it known publicly that he's a marmalade fan. During a 2012 visit to Cumbria, the royal was given marmalade and declared: "I do like marmalade. And marmalade pudding."
Included in Charles' Royal Collection Shop marmalade range is the 'Fine Cut Seville Orange' marmalade that is a sweet ode to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II's memorable Platinum Jubilee sketch with Paddington Bear. In the sketch, the Queen and Paddington bonded over their mutual love of marmalade sandwiches, with the royal revealing she kept one as an emergency snack in her handbag.
According to the marmalade's product description on the Royal Collection Shop website, the spread "brings a touch of regal elegance to any meal."
