In the United Kingdom, the royal financial portfolio includes a retail park near Windsor Castle, a property that features a McDonald's restaurant. Queen Elizabeth II can even keep an eye on the investment, since the Bath Road Retail Park in Slough is visible from the Queen's quarters in Windsor Castle. The purchase, made by the Crown Estate in 2008, had a price tag of £92 million.
The Crown Estate is a semi-independent public entity that manages a large portfolio worth billions of pounds. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest property owners. However, Crown Estate property is not the private property of the reigning monarch, nor is it administered on her behalf.
McDonald's around the world:
- McDonald's is the world's largest hamburger fast food chain, with more than 35,000 restaurants in 119 countries.
- Ray Kroc bought the original burger joint from brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1955. Kroc's first McDonald's restaurant was in Des Plaines, Illinois.
- Unusual McDonald's locations include a military-only restaurant at Guantanamo Bay, a kosher McDonald's in the middle of Israel's Negev Desert, and a spaceship-shaped restaurant in Roswell, New Mexico.