We went to the Queen's very own McDonald's and it's one of the poshest we've seen.

Her Majesty travelled up with us on the train and joined us for a very English breakfast.

Customers were blissfully ignorant that they were scoffing Big Macs on the Queen's land.





As Britain's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II owns a lot of land. Her £13 billion ($17 billion) property empire includes iconic race courses, grand hotels, historic castles, and even an offshore energy portfolio.

She also happens to own a franchise of McDonald's in Oxfordshire. Well, sort of. The McDonald's at the Banbury Gateway Shopping Park sits on land that forms part of the Crown Estate.

It's not the first time the fast food giant has been on the Queen's turf. She used to own a branch on the Bath Road Retail Park in Slough before selling the land last year for £177 million. But the Banbury branch, which opened in 2015, is definitely hers.

Naturally, Business Insider went to investigate...

We made the 80-mile journey out of London to take Her Majesty for breakfast. What we found was a McDonald's fit for a Queen, stuffed full of the fanciest mod-cons the chain has to offer.

First, we caught a train from Marylebone station to Banbury in Oxfordshire. In total, the journey took two hours via two trains, two tubes, and a bus.

Her Majesty came for the ride. Sadly, we couldn't stretch to first class, but she perked up once we reached our destination.

Inside, it immediately felt different to most McDonald's. There were leather sofas and booth-like seats, laminate floors, and white Eames chairs. Beats benches and swivel stools.

Customers are greeted by digital menu boards, while free Samsung tablets sit on some tables. So even the Queen can send a tweet or two.

If Samsung's not your thing, there's free WiFi and air charging ports.

There was also table service. So once you've picked and paid for your food you can just chill out and soak up the ambience.

To mark the occasion, we decided to order a royally British breakfast consisting of a bacon butty, hash brown, and cup of tea...

...all eaten under Her Majesty's watchful eye, of course.

The manager and franchise owner declined to comment, but were aware that the branch is part of the Crown Estate. We also spoke to customers, who were blissfully ignorant that they were scoffing Big Macs on the Queen's land.

So now the secret's out, next time you're in Banbury McDonald's remember to raise a glass and toast the Queen.

Cheers!