It is traditional in Sweden to give Easter eggs on Easter Saturday, rather than Sunday. On Saturday, the day the Queen Mother died, I gave Marcus some eggs made by Ackermans. Each egg had a little sticker on it proclaiming, "By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen Mother". It got me to wondering how many other companies will now have to remove their royal warrants.

The Queen Mum was quite generous with her approval - 218 companies held royal warrants. They covered a huge range of industries: soap manufacturers, umbrella manufacturers, fishmongers, livestock hauliers, homeopathic pharmacies, gun makers. She had her favourite TV engineer, her chosen supplier of brandy and vermouth, her favoured piano tuner.

In keeping with her popular image as a sweet old lady who liked the occasional drink, the list features many confectioners and biscuit manufacturers, and - of course - quite a few purveyors of alcoholic beverages: Bacardi, Bass Brewers, Corney & Barrow, Folio Wines, J&B, Stowells of Chelsea, Veuve Clicquot, Tanqueray and Gordons Gin.