An Aberdeenshire butcher has been left disappointed after his shop lost its Royal Warrant, granted by the late Queen Elizabeth.

John Sinclair, co-owner of HM Sheridan, a butcher’s shop that has been supplying Balmoral Castle and the neighbouring Royal estate Birkhall with meat and poultry since 1987, has expressed his disappointment after losing one of his Royal warrants.

The shop had previously been granted warrants by both the late Queen Elizabeth and Charles, when he was still the Prince of Wales.

However, Sinclair was left “disappointed” after being unsuccessful in applying for the new King’s Warrant. This decision was made during a review into the Royal Warrants granted by the King before he ascended to the throne.

A warrant is initially granted for up to five years to a named individual at a company and serves as a mark of recognition for suppliers of goods and services to the royals.

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Sinclair, whose shop in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, received an order from Balmoral just days before Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022, said: ‘We’re disappointed that we no longer have the warrant. Obviously we didn’t meet the criteria, but I don’t know why. I’ll be asking a question about that.

He speculated: “Maybe it’s because we’re not fully organic. It’s a job getting organic meat to this part of the country we’re in the middle of nowhere up here”, reports the Mirror.

Mr Sinclair shared his experiences with the late Queen and revealed her typical order. He remembered delivering to the castle in Aberdeen and having “such good banter” with the Queen.

He would always prepare special sausages for Her Majesty’s summer barbecues and a lamb would usually be on the order for big family gatherings. He also confessed to The Times that he was nervous the first time he met the Queen at a garden party on castle grounds.

“I looked down on this small woman who had such good banter. She was quite cheeky as well,” Mr Sinclair added.