Does King Charles actually own a Starbucks location?

When you think of Starbucks, does the royal family ever come to mind? Probably not. But maybe it should.

Thanks to an article from TastingTable, we’ve learned a very interesting fact about King Charles recently. It seems that he technically does own a Starbucks location. And part of the reason for that is because it’s located on an estate that technically does in fact belong to the current monarch.

So where exactly is this Starbucks location “owned” by King Charles? We are so glad you asked.

King Charles III technically owns a Starbucks location

It seems that the location of the royally owned Starbucks is in Oxfordshire. And if you want a chance to drink at a royally owned Starbucks, you’ll want to head to the Banbury Gateway Shopping Park.

Considering that the Banbury Gateway Shopping Park is officially owned by the Crown Estate, this means that King Charles owns whatever is present in this location. And it seems that this is not the only location owned by the Crown Estate. There are four Starbucks locations outside of London, and a number of McDonald’s locations as well. All of this to say that technically, King Charles does in fact own more than one Starbucks and McDonald’s, or at the very least those businesses sit on property owned by the reigning monarch.

But what do we mean when we say that King Charles only technically owns these businesses?

While the land that these businesses sit on is owned by the Crown Estate, this does not mean that King Charles has any real say over these businesses. He doesn’t actually profit from them directly, and he cannot sell them. He doesn’t get to help manage these businesses. Considering this is not private property of the king’s, it makes perfect sense. It’s truly just a technicality.

Essentially, when you purchase your coffee from one of these locations, you are contributing to the royal coffers. Basically a portion of the cost of your cup of coffee will go into the Sovereign Grant that pays the king. And we think that’s close enough when talking about the king and his Starbucks.