Full bloom: The Queen's grocer raises a glass to 45 years in business

Partridges managing director John Shepherd on the store's regal history and the new gin which celebrates its anniversary

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Partridges opened on 25 May 1972 at 132 Sloane Street, Chelsea. The doors were, in fact, first opened by my brother Sir Richard Shepherd, who was the first of at least eight family members to have worked in the business. He had previously studied at the London School of Economics and met, among others, Sir Mick Jagger and Albert Vince, who founded the Europa chain of shops and helped Richard formulate his ideas for Partridges.

It was a different world then. Two weeks before the opening and while studying for exams at school, I had found enough time to attend the Doors' concert at Imperial College London, the very first Watergate burglary had just taken place, The Godfather had opened in the US and T-Rex were at number one in the charts with Metal Guru.

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