King Charles Technically Owns A Starbucks - Here's Why

The mention of the British royal family immediately conjures up images of luxurious palaces, televised weddings, sparkling crowns, and maybe some family drama. What doesn't come to mind, surely, is Starbucks. And yet, if you ever find yourself in the Banbury Gateway Shopping Park in Oxfordshire and visit its Starbucks, you'll be drinking your coffee on an estate that technically belongs to the current reigning monarch, King Charles III.

Much like the fast food restaurant Queen Elizabeth II sort of owned, the entire Banbury Gateway is owned by the Crown Estate. It was King George III who, in 1760, made an agreement with the government that still stands today: In an exchange for an annual income, the King gives up the revenue from the Crown Estate. Instead, the profits from the Estate go to the Treasury (the economic and finance ministry), and from there, a portion is allocated to the Sovereign Grant — which is the yearly income given to the Monarch for the operations of the entire royal household. In the last decade, the Crown Estate has put more than four billion British pounds into the Treasury and is worth 15.5 billion pounds as of 2024. Outside of London, the Crown Estate is a landlord to four Starbucks coffee shops alongside several McDonald's restaurants and other popular eateries, fashion stores, and even tech shops.

Although the lands under Crown Estate do belong to King Charles as the current Sovereign (as they did to Queen Elizabeth before him), he is not allowed to sell them, directly profit from them, or interfere with their management. These lands are not His Majesty's private property, and so he doesn't really have any say over what happens at Banbury's Starbucks — or any other store inside the shopping park, for that matter.

This arrangement may seem a bit strange to those of us living outside a monarchy, but the concept of the Crown is not actually synonymous with the Monarch — the Crown is, first and foremost, an institution. And Crown Estate is an independent for-profit business that's separate from King Charles as a person but is connected to the institution of the Crown.

That said, if you're picking up one of Starbucks' top drinks or prefer venturing into Costa Coffee (which is also located inside the park) for your morning cup of caffeine at Banbury Gateway Shopping Park, you're partially contributing to the Sovereign Grant — when all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed.