Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775 by chemist Frantz Heinrich Muller as the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory. Under protection of Denmark’s Queen Juliane Marie, and like all protected porcelain workshops in Europe at that time, their products were meant to compete with the widely desired and beautiful Chinese imports. With Muller’s discovery of a local source for kaolin which is the crucial ingredient in fine porcelain, the Queen, knowing it would be in her economy’s best interest, gave Muller a 50-year monopoly for porcelain production. Royal Copenhagen is best known for their cobalt blue on white china. Through its long-life Royal Copenhagen passed hands several times. And in the 20th century even incorporating with other renowned Danish companies such as Georg Jensen, Holmegaard, and Bing and Grondahl. Today it is part of Fiskars.