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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Evie Townend

Queen has her very own branch of McDonald’s in the UK - and you can visit it

Alongside her royal duties, the Queen of England is somewhat of a property tycoon, owning £13 billion worth of property.

This includes six royal residences, half of the UK’s shoreline and almost all of Regent Street.

She owns Trafalgar Square, home to Nelson’s Column and the British National Gallery.

However, perhaps a little more unconventionally, the Queen even has a fast-food McDonald’s branch.

Queen Elizabeth II arrives at a McDonald's drive-thru restaurant on July 31st 1998 in Cheshire, England (Getty Images)

Nested 80 miles outside of London at the Banbury Gateway Shopping Park, on the edge of Oxfordshire, the Maccy D’s is open to the public.

While there is doubt as to whether the Queen has or will ever visit, it seems to have more of a regal aesthetic then over branches- leather sofas, digital menu boards, Eames chairs, laminate floors and table service.

With drive-thru services available 11am to 10pm, maybe the Queen is more likely to pull up in the Bentley on her way to Balmoral.

Afterall, Princess Diana was famously known to have made secret McDonald’s trips when her young princes were home from boarding school.

The retail park also has a branch of Starbucks, along with high street chains such as Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark.

It is not the first time a McDonald's franchise has been on land owned by the Queen. She used to own a branch on the Bath Road Retail Park in Slough, but sold the land for £177million in 2016.

The Queen’s portfolio is not just property- she also owns all the swans on the River Thames and all of the dolphins in the UK.

Though, what owning swans or dolphins technically means today remains to be seen.

Her Majesty's Royal Palace also extends to the crown jewels, the Tower of London and, by extension, the Tower's famed flock of ravens.

It's all to do with the Crown Estate - which the Queen effectively owns.

The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch 'in right of The Crown' - which is currently Queen Elizabeth II.

It is not the first time a McDonald's franchise has been on land owned by the Queen (Getty Images)

It's not private property - it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the monarch, it's just technically overseen by the royals.

Under the Crown Estate Act of 1961, the estates are managed by a board who have a duty to maintain and enhance their value - as a result, they are often huge tourist attractions.

The terms state that any private landlords and developers must pass on their profits to the Treasury each year - which then dispenses 15% to the monarchy through the Sovereign Grant.

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