GENTLE, affable and benign, Edward Bodenham, scion of the Floris family, is the ninth generation custodian of the oldest fragrance company in the UK.
The story of Floris begins in 1730 when Juan Famenias Floris left the Spanish island of Minorca to come to London, where he set himself up as a barber, buying No.89 Jermyn Street in St James, Mayfair, a very smart shopping area – then as now – and still the headquarters of the family business.
Now married to Elizabeth, the first scent Floris created was Limes eau de toilette, inspired by olfactory memories of his childhood home and is still available to buy. The scents were made in the basement of the shop until recently, when the production was outsourced to Devon. Princess Diana opened the factory in 1989 but the perfumes are still composed in Jermyn St. Floris now offers a popular and growing bespoke service based in store.
Since opening almost 300 years ago, Floris fragrances have been bought by many notable people including Beau Brummell, Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe (she bought Rose Geranium) and David Bowie (who favoured Elite). Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was a regular visitor to the charming, dark wood-lined shop, which still uses Spanish mahogany cabinets bought at the Great Exhibition of 1852, while the store recently appeared in an episode of the BBC drama series Killing Eve.
Floris also has famously fragranced the British Royal Family, holding warrants since 1800.
The reason we know this is that wisely, or just luckily, the family have kept and maintained the ledgers and scent formulations at 89 Jermyn Street, where the entire family lived until 1871. As a result, its history can be traced through an amazing and extensive archive, with letters and documents on display in the office rooms, which Edward generously enjoys sharing with visitors.
Edward Bodenham of Floris
Was there any other career you considered or did you always know you were going to go into the family business because you’re the ninth generation of Floris?
No, not really. I used to work here in school holidays with my grandfather and my father from quite a young age – I was 11 or 12. It was always so exciting to do.
Before then, when I was really young, I would just come up to London to visit the perfumery, smelling all the fragrances. I’ve always had a fond affection for it and it’s always been a magical experience for me.
After college, there were times when I wondered whether there was another career that I would like to do. I had a good think about it. But I have such an affection for Floris that I was really drawn to it.
Fragrance is something that has an emotional connection and every time I came here and smelled all the fragrances that I’d grown up with, it made me feel very connected to my family. And there was such a warmth that I always felt whenever I came here. To go into the business was something that I was really honoured to do.
Edward, John and Emily Bodenham – the seventh and eighth generation owners of Floris
What have been the high points of your directorship here?
Getting to actually create fragrances is probably one of the huge highlights but also speaking to our customers. They tell me stories of their connection to us and how they grew up with Floris.
And then, when I became part of the creative team, creating fragrances and getting to travel, it was quite strange going to Japan or the Middle East and seeing these huge displays of our fragrances. It’s quite humbling to think that we just created them in the perfumery, in this little room on a very small scale. That’s always amazing. But I find travelling generally very inspiring. Being in a different culture can sometimes trigger the inspiration for a new fragrance.
The Jermyn Street shop and headquarters of Floris
Why do you think Floris has continued to be in business and flourish for almost three centuries?
As an independent family company, I think that certainly one of the secrets to our longevity is from sharing a real inherent passion and enjoyment in what we do, while taking great care and constantly striving for excellence. When it involves creating something as magical and emotive as perfume, I feel that it makes those values even more special.
Like myself, many of our customers have grown up with our fragrances and often tell me that there is something reassuring about wearing a fragrance that has a special connection to them and brings joyful memories of the past.
We are also fortunate enough to have a rich archive of fragrances and formula books that generations of my family have lovingly looked after and added to, which are a constant source of inspiration for future fragrances. We have a great deal of respect for our heritage, while continuing to be inspired by new experiences and by the present world around us.
A bottle of Rose Geranium eau de parfum – a classic Floris scent
Since when has the company had the Royal Warrants?
It received a Royal Warrant from a reigning monarch, King George IV, in 1820. But there were two previous ones before that – when King George was the Prince of Wales in 1800 and when he became the Prince Regent in 1812.
And has the royal connection continued?
Since that first one, we’ve received 18 to this day, including the honour of receiving one from King Charles III.
I understand you provide fragrance and soap to him?
Yes, it’s a bit of everything really.
Are you allowed to say which fragrances?
No, we’re not allowed to say. We have to be discreet.
Have you made fragrances for Queen Elizabeth II?
We’ve not actually made bespoke fragrances. The Royal Family tend to use fragrances that are just part of the collection. For significant anniversaries, however, we have made perfumes to celebrate the Queen’s various jubilees. For her 90th birthday, we created a fragrance, not to sell in the shop, but as a gift – as a celebration. And then for the coronation of Charles and Camilla, we created a fragrance for each of them, which was also a gift, and we had a lovely letter back from the King’s right-hand man.
Elite eau de toilette – a bestselling Floris aftershave
Is the bespoke aspect of the business important for the company?
Yes, it is. The bespoke service has become more and more popular, which is how it used to be back in our early days. Because it had been such a traditional part of the business, it is something we brought back around 2009 or 2010 and it has become a significant part of what we do now.
We offer two different services. One that’s a two-hour appointment with the perfumer. It can become quite emotional because people are smelling all these different smells. This brings back memories that they thought were long forgotten – and suddenly they’re back in vivid detail. But it’s really lovely and people have said that it’s a special time out of their day.
Then we have a “together” service, which is a three-hour consultation. That has been very popular with mothers and daughters, couples getting married or celebrating an anniversary, or friends, sisters.
What challenges have you faced with the business?
The various recessions we’ve gone through have always been challenging but the pandemic was obviously our most recent challenge. We had to close the shop, although we were able to keep our website going. It was our lifeline, basically.
People take comfort in having their fragrance and they sought that reassurance during the pandemic. We also had to close the shop during the Second World War when there was a bomb in St James’ churchyard, but it was apparently only for a couple of days.
One of the biggest challenges occurred in the 1800s, when the business was taken over by a family member who was only 18. His parents had passed away so he didn’t really have much experience of running a business and he ended up running up a few debts with suppliers.
He went to the gentlemen’s clubs in the area, the old school clubs, to try and pay off the debts through gambling but it didn’t work out. His sister, Mary-Anne Floris, and her husband, James Bodenham – which is why I’ve got this surname – stepped in and paid off the debts. This restored the good name of the business.
Floris London No 89 – the quintessential gentleman’s fragrance
It’s incredible to have this heritage that you can trace back, isn’t it?
It’s quite amazing – I grew up hearing all the stories. James Bodenham and Mary-Anne Floris had 16 children who were all in the business, working here on the shop floor. By that time, the family no longer lived here – they moved to a house near Chiswick called Ivy Lodge, which was the inspiration behind our recently launched Purple Memoire [April 2025].
And what are the future plans for the business?
Creating new fragrance, to keep being inspired and working with some new ingredients. I think that would be really, really fun to do.
by Caroline Simpson