As my colleague Deidre Woollard reported the other day, Hardy Amies, the Queen of England's dressmaker for more than 30 years, is in danger of failing financially. Now the Queen's china supplier Royal Worcester has been put up for sale, leading to fears that the UK's "heritage brands" are becoming an endangered species, the London Times reports. Royal Worcester, which dates back to 1751, received its first royal warrant in 1789, and employed more than 1,000 people at its height. However, it has gotten into difficulty due to competition from abroad, cheaper products flooding the market, and changing tastes in tableware. For traditionalists however, Royal Worcester remains the gold standard.

Famed deluxe London department store Harrods, owned by the late Dodi Fayed's financier father Mohamed Al-Fayed, just announced plans to expand its private label product lines to put them on a par with the famous name merchandise it has long carried. Harrods branded products will soon include everything from golf and ski accessories to baby wear and plus-size collections, Vogue UK reports. The million square foot store, located in Knightsbridge, is the largest and one of the most luxurious in the world. It holds several royal warrants from the likes of the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales.

The fall line from John Lobb, bootmaker to British royalty since the 1860s and fashioner of what is arguably the world's finest men's footwear, isn't due to arrive in stores for another couple of weeks - but we have an exclusive preview for you. Lobb, founded in 1849, received its first Royal Warrant from the Prince of Wales in 1863. Aside from sovereigns and heads of state, Lobbs have long been the favored footwear of fops including Cole Porter, Cecil Beaton, Hugh Grant and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Handmade from the finest quality full grain leathers, Lobb shoes "combine heritage, tradition and modernity" with distinction and elegance. The new ready-to-wear line features classic oxfords and monk straps, jodphur boots, riding boots (like the Hellesdon model in tan brown shire calf pictured here) and suede chukka boots, some available in a striking crimson red. Of course if money is no object, the company (which is now owned by Hermes) also offers bespoke services. See the gallery for more.

Yesterday Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, paid a visit to the home of his favorite Scotch whisky, the Laphroaig distillery on Islay. Laphroaig, established in 1815, is one of the richest, smokiest single malts and one of the very best Scotches ever produced. It holds a Royal Warrant from the Prince of Wales, which he confirmed while there, and bears his heraldic three-feather badge on its label. The kilt-clad Charles and Camilla - who are known as by their local title, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, while traveling in Scotland - toured the distillery, learned about (and leant a hand in) its production and nosed whiskies of different ages. The Prince also signed two barrels of maturing spirit and an ultra-rare 40-year-old bottle of Laphroaig, one of only a handful left in the world, all to be auctioned off for charity. The 40-year-old was worth about $5,000 before he applied the royal signature. The proceeds from the auctions will go to the charities of Charles' choice.

Two of the very last shotguns ever produced by 200-year-old London luxury goods firm Asprey were sold at Christie's in London Wednesday for over $120,000. The exceptionally exquisite firearms, included in the auction house's Fine Sporting Guns and Rifles sale, "mark the end of a tradition of impeccably executed gun craft," Christie's notes. Asprey, supplier to the aristocracy and longtime holder of Royal Warrants, closed its gunrooms for good in 1996 shortly after these final pieces were made when the company was acquired by Prince Jefri of Brunei. Prince Charles and George Bush both own Asprey shotguns similar to the ones featured in the sale.

Although Asprey guns are a thing of the past, Asprey scion William Asprey is carrying on the family's sporting tradition at his new firm, William & Son. As we reported previously, he is not allowed to use the Asprey name in trade. William opened his own gunroom at his company's Mayfair premises and is now selling equally impressive pieces. Also hammered down in the Christie's sale were a pair of 12-bore double-barreled shotguns made by Holland & Holland in 1976, for $118,000; a 1969 .375 magnum double-barreled rifle, also by Holland & Holland, for $94,000; a double-barreled 1906 sporting rifle by Purdey, for $31,000; and a modern 12-bore Beretta shotgun, $16,000, all with beautiful engraving and woodwork.

It's one of the economic vagaries of the business that storied British luxury goods firm Asprey of London no longer has any connection (save an historical one) with the actual Asprey family. After the 200-year-old company was sold to Prince Jeffri of Brunei in the '90s, family scion William Asprey decided to start his own firm catering to the aristocratic trade (Asprey had long held royal warrants). However, he discovered to his dismay that he was no longer entitled to the use of his own last name; while Prince Jefri subsequently unloaded Asprey to a hedge fund, William opened a beautiful shop in London's Mayfair under the name William & Son.

Under its new owners Asprey has gone in an increasingly fashionable direction, and while producing some beautiful things it has suffered financial setbacks from over-enthusiastic expansion. William & Son by contrast hearkens back to Asprey's traditional roots, and still maintains an air of clubby exclusivity in its Mayfair premises (pictured above), which stocks high-end jewelry, silver, watches, leathergoods, china and crystal. A key facet of the business is its bespoke service, which will basically fashion anything you like in whatever precious material strikes your fancy as long as you can afford it. More recently William added an adjacent gun room, where beautiful silver-inlaid shotguns can now be had for $100,000 and up. He is certainly following through on his promise to "maintain his family's reputation in the historic splendour of No. 10 Mount Street." And what's in a name, after all?