Here at LittleThings, we write about the royal family a lot.
At this point, it seems as though we'd learned almost everything there was to know about them — from the youngest members of the family (little Charlotte and George) to the Queen herself.
For that reason, I was astonished when I saw an article about Queen Elizabeth with information I'd never heard before: the Queen owns a McDonald's.
You might be thinking, "Wait, what?" Believe me, that was my thought process as well.
So of course I had to dive a little further into the internet to find out whether or not Queen Elizabeth II, the elegant and sophisticated monarch of the United Kingdom, actually owns a fast food joint.
And it turns out she does!
Now, it's a little more complicated than it seems at first glance (because what in the monarchy isn't?), but there is in fact a branch of McDonald's that does indeed belong to the Queen.
[H/T: Mirror]
Being the Queen obviously comes with a lot of perks. One of those is being the owner of the Crown Estate.
This collection of lands and holdings belongs to whoever is sitting as the reigning monarch.
Because Queen Elizabeth II is currently the one wearing "The Crown," she is the official owner of these lands.
That said, she doesn't have much authority when it comes to the actual dealings of what happens there.
Though the Crown Estate is not part of the monarch's private estate, all the money from these properties go to Her Majesty's Treasury — which then goes back to the British nation.
According to the Crown Estate's website:
The Crown Estate is… owned by the Monarch in right of the Crown. This means that the Queen owns it by virtue of holding the position of reigning Monarch, for as long as she is on the throne, as will her successor.
In October 2015, Banbury Gateway Shopping Park opened in the Crown Estate.
The website explains, "The food and drink offering includes a McDonald's restaurant with a drive-thru, Starbucks, M&S Café and Ed's Easy Diner — the first outlet of the retro-American Diner to open in the area."
So what does that mean? Well, as soon as the McDonald's opened on the Crown Estate, it technically became property of the Queen.
In addition to owning a variety of stunning mansions and castles, the Queen also owns a regular old fast food restaurant.
As The Independent reports:
The Queen owns a lot of land.
Her portfolio, including Regent Street, racecourses, posh hotels and castles, is enough to put any landlord to shame.
But just to bring it down a notch or two, she also kind of owns a McDonald's.
They further explained that although the McDonald's isn't on the Queen's personal property, it's still owned in the right of the Crown.
The money from the McDonald's joins the other revenue from the Crown Estate, which adds up to £2.4 billion ($3.1 billion).
Did you know that the Queen was the rightful owner of a McDonald's?
How fascinating is it that the most revered woman in the world owns a fast food joint?
If you love the royal family, please SHARE this article with your friends!
