Our Honey-Inspired Summer Windows
Around the world right now, hives of ever-so-clever (not to mention self-organising) bees are buzzing their way through the flora and fauna of their local environments. It’s remarkable enough that their daily commute helps the planet to survive and flourish, but when all that industry also adds up to the jar of honey on your breakfast table, we think it’s high time we gave the world’s bees their flowers.
Inspired by our new collaboration with Disney Winnie the Pooh — and by our own centuries-long obsession with bees — our 2026 summer window displays pay sweet tribute to all things honey. We’ve even installed a few very special bees a little higher up our famous facade. Take a window-by-window tour of our Piccadilly displays now, starting with a trip up to our roof…
A Different Sort of Rooftop Party
The Eau de Nil sculpture in this window is an artful recreation of one of the real-life hives that stands on our roof at Piccadilly, and on a few other famous rooftops across London. Every year, the hardworking Fortnum's bees inside take flight for the green parks and secret gardens across the capital, before returning home to create a scrumptious yearly yield of highly-prized Fortnum's honey. Isn’t that sweet?
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
“Each of our Rooftop Honeys has its own unique flavour, just as each set of Eau de Nil hives has its own unique view of the city. Our Somerset House Honey, which has a particularly lovely and delicate spicy afternote.”
Flower Powered Jars of Joy
Unless you're a true aficionado (or an actual honeybee), you might not know that all honey is either multifloral or monofloral. In a nutshell – well, beehive – multifloral honey is made by bees who visit many types of flora, and monofloral honey is made by bees who almost exclusively visit just one type. Both types are scrumptious, but like the mighty jar in this window, most of the jars of our shelves are monofloral.
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
Blossom honeys are among the most delicate - although not fruity, despite the name. Instead they have delicate citrussy notes, a beautiful fragrance, and our Banbury Lime Blossom – made in Oxfordshire by bees flitting among Banbury’s beautiful lime tree blossoms – has a notable but subtle spicy finish.
Great British Honey
Honeybees are homely sorts and very clever too: after buzzing and bumbling among the flowers all day they fly back, not to the nearest hive, but to the particular one they recognise as their home. That's a good thing for us: because with Fortnum's hives in 15 different locations across the UK (each of which is highlighted in this window, by a charming little wooden signpost) they might quickly get lost otherwise...
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
"A honey so beloved by us that we use it to flavour our favourite Apricot, Honey and Lavender Infusion, our perfectly-balanced Salisbury Plain Honey is made by bees living peacefully on the Plain (save for the occasional military exercise) and promises ovely aromas of wildflowers and clover."
Royally Good Hives
To mark His Majesty King Charles III's 70th birthday, Fortnum's gifted the King three ornately decorated beehives, which now stand proudly in front of his home on Highgrove Estate. Each year, the bees produce a small but perfectly delicious amount of honey: a golden and delicious creation that owes its natural flavours and aromas to the myriad flowers at Highgrove.
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
These lucky bees return to hives in an old paddock at Highgrove, and have free rein (or should that be free reign?) of the hawthorn hedges, clover fields and colourful wildflowers at His Majesty The King’s estate. The result? A glorious Summer Orchard Honey that's certain to bring a ray of sunshine to your breakfast table.
Today's Forecast: Drizzle
Don't worry, this honeycomb isn't from a gigantic hive that's home to six-foot-long bees: it's just a sweet work of honey-inspired art. But whether your favourite sort of honey is clear, creamed or still housed in its natural hexagon, its moreish flavours and uplifting aromas rely on flowers. More than just a chance to add a dash of colour and charm to the heart of Piccadilly, we hope this window will inspire more than a few people to plant some flowers of their own this summer. After all, we all need to do our bit to help the bees.
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
Almost too beautiful to eat, this wonderful single origin Honeycomb Amphora hails from Wales and has a characteristically crumbly and decadent texture, whilst the surrounding honey is gently fruity and delicate.
Honey Makes The World Go Around
When it comes to honey, we go the extra mile. To Crete, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Down to New Zealand, up the Alps, and all the way to Zambia, as this beautiful window display proves. Why? Because the delicious work of these globe-crossing bees deserves to grace the kitchen tables and picnic spreads of Fortnum's customers.
A honey pick from Syrie, Fortnum’s honey buyer, inspired by this window
Made by bees who buzz around the fields at the Plateau of Valensole – the same fields used for Provence's famous oil – our layered and complex French Lavender Honey promises a delicate fragrance redolent of that famous (and very French) destination.
Pssst! Another famous lover of honey is here, too. (Or should that be hunny...?)
