The Most Bizarre Eating Habits Of The Royal Family – This Is What Kate Middleton Eats Every Day
The Royal family is known to live by a very specific set of rules. Sometimes those rules even apply to what they can eat and how they eat it! But when the rules don't really apply, each member of the royal family can get pretty particular about their meals.
From banning garlic from royal menus to secretly eating fat-free versions of what was being served, these royal family members have all developed particular habits in regards to the ways they enjoy their meals.
The Queen Loved Her Chocolate
The Queen's favorite food to indulge in was chocolate – dark chocolate, to be exact. "She loves chocolate. That was her favorite, and it has to be dark chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the better," Chef McGrady told Marie Claire.
And when it came to chocolate, nothing is beneath the Queen. While she did enjoy her high-end European chocolate brands like Charbonnel et Walker, Bendicks, and Prestat, royal sources have said that the palace often gets stocked with everyday chocolates such as Cadbury and Nestlé. Chocolate biscuit cake, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache sponge cakes were the Queen's faves.
The King's Eggs Are Boiled to Perfection
If you're ever tasked with making boiled eggs for King Charles, you better make sure you do it right. Queen Elizabeth's first born likes his boiled eggs cooked for exactly four minutes, which has his staff scrambling to get the timing right.
"His eggs had to be boiled for exactly four minutes. It was never anything other than a four-minute egg. His detectives radioed his ETA ahead. I always kept three pans boiling – just to be safe," King Charles's former private chef Mervyn Wycherley told The Guardian in 2012.
The Queen Ate Bananas With a Fork and Knife
The average human eats a banana straight out of the peel while holding it, but Queen Elizabeth II was no average human. The Queen preferred to eat her bananas with a fork and knife to avoid looking "like a monkey," former royal chef Darren McGrady reveals in Eating Royally.
The Queen cut the top and bottom off the banana, sliced the skin lengthwise, then chopped the fruit into bite-size pieces that she ate with a fork. Leave it up to a royal to make a simple thing unnecessarily complicated for the sake of civility.
The Queen Had to Have Her Drinks
The Queen always had to have her libations on hand. You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning, which is why before lunch, Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a gin and Dubonnet (a wine-based aperitif) with lemon and lots of ice. Royal experts speculate that the Queen most likely used Gordon's Gin, which has a royal warrant. This was a drink preference she reportedly inherited from the Queen Mother.
At the end of the day, she indulged in a glass of champagne from any of the royal-approved brands such as Bollinger, Lanson, and Krug.
Meghan Markle's Everyday Breakfast Routine
Meghan Markle may be the Duchess of Sussex now but she's still from California, which is why it's no surprise that her go-to breakfast is an açaí bowl (not pictured). She's told Eye Swoon that her breakfast includes an "açaí bowl, clean cleanse shake, or a green juice," and that she usually makes the açaí bowls herself.
When asked how growing up in California has influenced her diet, Markle said, "We are so spoiled with our produce there, and my love of simple ingredients prepped well is completely linked to that." If she can't make her own açaí bowl, she'll opt for avocado toast and poached eggs.
Meghan's American Guilty Pleasures
While the Duchess of Sussex likes to keep her diet healthy, she does enjoy a cheat meal every now and then. Her go-to guilty pleasures are boxed mac and cheese and tater tots.
"I love a french fry, but there's no shame in that. But you know what I do really happen to [love] is that boxed macaroni and cheese. I now buy the Annie's organic one if I'm craving it, but I throw some frozen peas into it and have this gooey simple childlike meal... I'm also not averse to eating tater tots. With ketchup and sriracha," Markle told Eye Swoon.
This Common Ingredient Is Banned From Royal Menus
One thing Queen Elizabeth detested was garlic. Despite how much it can liven up a dish, the Queen didn't like anything about garlic.
"The Queen would never have garlic on the menu. She hated the smell of it, she hated the taste of it," Chef McGrady told Marie Claire. Apparently, part of the reason for this is because of the family's frequent meetings with public figures. The Queen eliminated the need to worry over bad breath or strong odors by banning garlic.
Princess Diana Had a Fat-Free Version of Everything
Princess Diana secretly ate a fat-free version of everything everyone else ate at royal events. "She used to trick people: She'd say, 'Make me a mousse for President Reagan.' She couldn't have it because there was mayonnaise and sour cream. So she'd say, 'Make me a fat-free version.'"
"So I did. Often, when guests would come, she'd have the fat-free version and the guests were on the full-fat version and no one would know the difference," Chef McGrady told Marie Claire. Princess Diana quietly suffered from bulimia during her stay at Buckingham Palace and while recovering, she got into healthy eating.
William and Harry Loved McDonald's Growing Up
Prince William and Prince Harry were just regular kids when they were growing up (aside from the fact that they were royalty). What made them "regular" was their penchant for American junk food back in the day.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady told Marie Claire that one day Princess Diana took the boys to McDonald's simply because they wanted the happy meal toy. "Yeah, the boys loved McDonald's, and going out to pizza, and having potato skins – sort of the American foods. They were royal princes but had children's palates," McGrady dished.
The Queen Stayed Away From Starch
When she wasn't entertaining or hosting guests, the Queen enacted a strict "no starch" rule on the royal menu. The Queen wouldn't have any meal that involved potatoes, rice, or pasta for dinner, and usually, her lunches consisted of a simple grilled chicken with a side salad.
Chef McGrady told Daily Mail that the Queen wasn't much of a foodie and she mostly just ate to live. This is why she didn't opt for indulgent meals on her own. But when there were guests to attend to, the Queen will have meals "heavy in butter and cream."
King Charles Grows and Eats Organic Food
King Charles believes in growing and eating organic foods. When he makes organic dishes, including poached plums grown at his own estate, he will seldom share with the rest of the family. In fact, many of King Charles's organic creations are often kept separate from much of the royal cuisine.
King Charles is so dedicated to the organic lifestyle that he even started an organic foods company called Duchy Originals in 1990. It originally started as an outlet for organic produce grown on the Prince of Wales's Highgrove House estate and now sells products in specialty stores throughout the U.K.
Prince Harry Schooled His Family Chef Over Bacon
Prince Harry is very specific about his bacon and even told the family chef the "right" way to cook it when he was just eight years old! Chef Darren McGrady recalled in his book, "We serve the same bacon you can get in the states, and I broil it just the same. But Prince Harry said to me, 'We had it in America at Disney World, and it's so crispy you can snap it.'"
"You have to broil it first, and then you have to put it in some paper towels and place it in the microwave for a minute," Harry told McGrady.
Prince Philip Wasn't On Board With Organic
Prince Philip had been known to drop a punchline here and there when it comes to his opinion on many modern-day things. In one instance, he definitely wasn't here for the organic food trend of recent years.
The royal family often receives hampers (baskets of food) from Harrods. One time there were two baskets and Chef McGrady had to explain that one was brought by King Charles. "[Prince Philip] looked puzzled so I opened it up and I said, 'It's all organic.' And he said, 'Oh, bloody organic!' And just shook his head and walked out," McGrady recalled.
The Queen Loved Leftovers and Tupperware
The Queen may have had anything she desired at her own whim, but don't be mistaken – she knew how to be frugal when it mattered. When a whole lemon was used as mere garnish for a dinner, the Queen reportedly sent it back to the kitchen to be used in a future dish.
Because she preferred to conserve her leftovers, the Queen also loved Tupperware. She was known to snack on fruit straight out of a Tupperware container. She also poured her own cereal in the morning so long as it was stored in a Tupperware because it stayed fresher that way.
Kate Middleton Cooks For Her Family
While most of the royal family has lived their whole lives having their meals cooked for them, there are some members that prefer to cook for themselves. Kate Middleton is one of them.
"Kate does quite a lot of the cooking at the moment. You have to remember that she's not royal. She comes from a normal background and a normal home where she's always cooked for herself. And what I've always heard is that William enjoys spending time with her family because they just eat together at the kitchen table like a normal family," former royal chef Carolyn Robb told Racked in 2015.
Princess Diana Went Healthy For a Dark Secret
Princess Diana was very focused on eating healthy and would hardly even eat red meat. "The only red meat she would eat was lamb. And that was when she was entertaining. She'd never eat beef," Chef McGrady revealed.
He also added, "One day she said to me, 'Darren I want you to take care of all the fats, and I'll take care of the carbs at the gym.' We changed everything, I threw out my Buckingham Palace recipe book and got into healthy eating. When she was at Buckingham Palace, her bulimia was definitely a hidden thing. We didn't know about it."
King Charlies Doesn't Need To Eat Lunch
King Charles reportedly only enjoys one cooked meal a day, which means he often skips out on lunch. The 70-year-old royal clearly likes to get a lot done in his time, but his staff sometimes wishes he'd take a break.
"When we do day visits or foreign tours, he can go the whole day without stopping for a break, which means we all have to miss our lunch as well... It's good in a way, because it means he has time to meet more people," a royal courtier once told Daily Mail, who added it's good to have a big breakfast on those days.
The Royal Animals Have Chefs Prepare Them Food
Even the royal family animals get specially-prepared meals! Queen Elizabeth's corgis don't eat bagged dry food and instead have their food made from scratch. "I simmered rabbit, cooked down some chicken, then finely chopped the meat, sieved the stock and returned the meat," former palace cook Owen Hodgson told Telegraph.
The horses' carrots had to be prepared to the Queen's specifications as well. "Each one had to be finger-length and peeled to perfection. If ever a horse bit the Queen's finger, it was the chef's fault for cutting them too short," Hodgson added.
The Queen Liked Milk and Cereal
You already know that Queen Elizabeth was pretty particular about what she ate, and breakfast is no exception, but it was actually a lot simpler than you'd think. The Queen started the day with plain Earl Grey tea and a few biscuits.
For her actual breakfast, she poured herself a bowl of cereal, Kellogg's Special K was one of her favorites. When she was not having cereal, the Queen would opt for toast and marmalade or toast with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Of course, the Queen's eggs had to be brown eggs because she thought they tasted better.
