The tap is turned off on Malvern bottled water Queen prefers

The company which bottles the Queen's favourite mineral water is ending its production after sales stalled.

Malvern Water has been the Royal choice for more than 400 years after the first Queen Elizabeth drank it in the 16th century.

Queen Victoria refused to travel without the spring water and the current Queen orders gallons of it whenever she travels abroad.

But Coca-Cola, which produces the drink, is scrapping production at the end of next month after losing market share to cheaper rivals.

It also claims the size of the factory in Malvern, Worcestershire, is too small to compete with larger brands such as Evian and Highland Spring.

Coca-Cola has now decided to sell off the site as luxury housing and make 17 workers at the plant redundant.

The decision has shocked residents living near the Colwall facility in the town where the water has been consumed since 1558.

Paul Tuthill, a district councillor and chairman of Malvern Town Council, said: "This is a great shock.

"What is the Queen going to do about her water because she always drank Malvern Water?

"I think Coca-Cola ought to offer it for sale to local entrepreneurs to take it over rather than just sell the site for high value housing."

Elizabeth Tudor famously drank the liquid in public after medics suggested it could cure a range of illnesses.

Its purity comes from being filtered through the porous rocks of the Malvern Hills.

The water was first produced commercially by Schweppes in 1850 but has only ever had 1 per cent of total bottled water sales in the UK in the past ten years.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, which has produced the bottled water for the past 23 years, said: "We cannot produce enough Malvern Water on the scale it needs to compete in today's bottled water sector.

"Modern bottled water plants are about ten times the size of Colwall and can often produce more water in a day than we do in a month.

Rhys Humm, company director of Holywell Spring Water, based in near by Malvern Wells, said he hoped the Queen would now switch to his brand.

He said: "We will be in contact with the Queen very shortly. She can expect a letter in the next few days.

"We have aimed very much for the top end of the market such as in Michelin starred restaurants."