Privacy and security
1. Introduction
This website is operated by Royal Collection Enterprises Limited ("RCEL", referred to as "we", "us", "our", etc.). This Privacy Policy outlines the way in which we gather and use information relating to you, the user of the RCEL website. By using this website, you consent to the use (including transfer) of information as described below.
Your privacy is extremely important to us. Any personal information we gather from you will be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with the policy of the The Royal Household and we will treat all your Personal Information as confidential (although we reserve the right to disclose this information in the circumstances set out below).
2. What information do we collect?
When you shop on this website, we will ask you to input and will collect personal information from you such as your name, e-mail address, billing address, delivery address, telephone number, product selections, credit card or other payment information and a password ("Personal Information"). We may also collect, and our third party providers of advertisements and content may collect, information about where you are on the internet (e.g. the URL you came from, IP addresses, domain types like .co.uk and .com), your browser type, the country and telephone area code where your computer is located, the pages of our website that were viewed during your visit, the advertisements you clicked on, and any search terms that you entered on our website ("User Information"). We may collect this information even if you do not register with us.
We use cookies to keep track of your current shopping session to personalise your experience and so that you may retrieve your shopping basket at any time. You may experience technical difficulties in using this website if you have disabled cookies. Cookies are small text files containing identity codes which are stored on your computer by your web browser. Cookies do not harm your computer but if you do wish to stop your computer accepting cookies, go to the help section of your web browser where you will find information on how to do this.
3. How do we use your information?
We will keep your information on a secure server and we will fully comply with all applicable UK Data Protection and consumer legislation. In particular, we confirm that any Personal Information which you provide to us (or which is available on public registers) and any User Information from which we can identify you, is held in accordance with the registration we have with the Data Commissioner's Office. We use your information only for the following purposes:
• Processing your orders and maintaining a record of customer correspondence;
• For statistical or survey purposes to improve this website and its services to you and to recognise you when you return to our website;
• To serve website content and advertisements to you;
• To administer this website and to notify you about changes to our service;
• If you consent, to notify you of products or special offers that may be of interest to you (see below); and
• for the detection of fraud;
By using this website, including if you place an order through the website, you agree that you do not object to us contacting you for any of the above purposes whether by telephone, e-mail or in writing and you confirm that you do not and will not consider any of the above as being a breach of any of your rights under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
You should be aware that if we are requested by the police or any other regulatory or government authority investigating suspected illegal activities to provide your Personal Information and /or User Information, we are entitled do so.
You can (subject to payment of an appropriate fee) at any time request a copy of personal information held about you by contacting The Data Protection Administrator, Information Assurance, Buckingham Palace, London, SW1A 1AA. In the unlikely event that the operations of RCEL are transferred to or integrated with another operation, your details may be disclosed to our advisors and to any transferee of RCEL's operations.
4. Marketing communications
When you create a shopping account while ordering online you will be given the option to receive information from the Royal Collection by post, e-mail or telephone, about products, promotions or special offers which we feel may be of interest to you. In the event that you do not wish to be contacted for such purposes, ensure that you do not tick the newsletter option as you go through the registration process. You may unsubscribe from our contact list at any time by replying to a promotional e-mail with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line, by e-mailing us at shop@royalcollection.org.uk or telephoning us on +44 (0) 845 330 2898 between 9.30am and 5.30pm. You can also log in to your account by clicking here and manage your newsletter subscription by selecting Newsletter Subscription and unticking the relevant newsletter settings.
Your Personal Information will not be disclosed to other businesses or third parties and we will not release your Personal Information to any company outside the Royal Collection for mailing or marketing purposes.
When entering any of our contests or prize draws, you provide your name, email address and mailing address. If you win, we will send the prize to the address entered and notify you by email. When you enter a contest or prize draw, you are also included in our newsletter list to receive notice of promotions, specials and new additions to the website. You may unsubscribe from this news list by following the unsubscribe instructions in any email received.
Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy. Questions regarding this policy should be directed as follows:
Customer Services
Royal Collection Enterprises
Stable Yard House
St James’s Palace
London
SW1A 1JR
Telephone: +44 (0) 845 330 2898
E-mail: shop@royalcollection.org.uk
5. Cookies explained
What is a cookie?
Cookies are small text files that are sent by websites that you visit to recognise who you are when you return there. There files are stored on your computer’s hard drive, and are read by your web browser.
How are cookie used?
Cookies perform several functions, such as remembering who you are on a particular site (your welcome message), to keeping you logged in to your account screen on an ecommerce site (however, you should always log out if you are using a public computer). Advertising agencies also use cookies to find out if they have served you an advert from a particular brand on a site, or if you have seen a particular advert before. Website owners will use cookies to follow which pages that you’ve read so that they can see what parts of the site are popular or not. In short, cookies are a way of providing statistics on site visits as well as some limited functionality that makes your site visit easier. When used properly cookies are an asset to a site visitor and a site owner. They are not viruses, but some unscrupulous outfits will use them maliciously – we follow best practice for cookie use.
A list of all the cookies used on this website by us, and our technology partners can be found in our cookies list.
What is a cookie?
Cookies are small text files that are sent by websites that you visit to recognise who you are when you return there. There files are stored on your computer’s hard drive, and are read by your web browser.
Flash cookies?
Adobe uses a particular type of cookie called a ‘Local Shared Object’, which is typically collected if you watch a video for example that uses the Adobe Flash media player, i.e. an embedded YouTube video on a page that is being played via Flash. Please note that these types of cookie will not be found on iPads, which do not support Flash. Have a look at Adobe's website if you want to control Flash cookies on your computer. If you’ve got a Firefox browser you can also get an add-on to detect and delete Flash cookies.
Opting out of cookies?
There are a number of options available so that you do not have to store any cookies at all. You can either set your browser so that it will not accept and store any cookie, or if you have a little more time and knowledge you are able to allow only certain ‘trusted’ sites to store cookies on your computer. These sites may include us (of course!), or the site where you carry out your online banking, or possibly your favourite news service.
It’s worth bearing in mind that if you decide to delete all of your cookies, then you will likely have to re-enter all of your usernames and passwords on all of the sites that you visit, which you previously didn’t even have to think about. As we mentioned before, cookies can be a real asset to your web surfing experience.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (http://www.ico.gov.uk/) provides some advice about cookies and their use, but it also provides a link to ‘About cookies’ (www.aboutcookies.org) which is run by the law firm Pinsent Masons. This website provides even more information about cookies if you feel that this page and the ICO is not enough information for you, but it also details how you might delete any cookies that you find, and it also shows you how to allow those trusted sites to store their cookies on your computer.
What is a web beacon?
Web beacons are also sometimes referred to as ‘web bugs’ and are small single pixel transparent image files. They allow website owners to know when a visitor has reached their website, and are used in conjunction with cookies to allow further website tracking to be monitored. Again, these files are not viruses, but are useful in helping us to make your web surfing experience better.
Our main technology partners
We work with the following companies in maintaining and improving our website, and they must all satisfy the data protection requirements. If you have any more questions, please do contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
the OTHER media Limited
the OTHER media provide build and hosting services to The Royal Collection and help us to maintain the software that runs our website. They provide us with reporting statistics where required, and will serve cookies on our behalf to enable any site personalisation and log in functionality.