The history of Fortnum’s dates back to 1707 when William Fortnum, footman in the Royal Household of Queen Anne, persuaded Hugh Mason to join him as a partner in setting up a grocery shop. Connected from the beginning with service to the Royal Family, Fortnum and Mason has served twelve successive monarchs and has been involved in most events of historical significance, from supplying troops in the Napoleonic Wars to providing provisions for the first successful Everest ascent in 1953, and more recently during the Falkland and Bosnian conflicts.
