Everything We Know About the Royal Family’s Eating Habits and the Rules They Must Follow

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Everything We Know About the Royal Family’s Eating Habits and the Rules They Must Follow

Royals, they’re just like Us! OK, not really, but they do eat just like everyone else, and many of their eating habits are surprisingly normal. Case in point: They even follow recipes from well-known chefs. Duchess Meghan famously made Ina Garten’s roast chicken recipe the night she got engaged to Prince Harry in 2017, which has helped the popular and tasty dish become known as “engagement chicken.” [ami-related id="1380813" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/food/pictures/duchess-meghan-markles-most-relatable-food-quotes/" title="Duchess Meghan's Most Relatable Food Quotes" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/duchess-meghan-food-cooking-3.jpg"] Duchess Kate is also partial to whipping up meals at home for her family, which includes Prince William and the couple’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The future queen of England has said that she loves to make pizzas with her growing brood, and even revealed she’s partial to topping her own pies with bacon. Despite being one of the youngest royals, Princess Charlotte is already developing some distinct eating habits of her own. During an event in February 2019, proud mom Kate revealed that her daughter “loves” olives. Curious to find out more about the royal family’s eating habits? Scroll down for more food-related tidbits!

Credit: Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Everything We Know About the Royal Family’s Eating Habits and the Rules They Must Follow

Royals, they’re just like Us! OK, not really, but they do eat just like everyone else, and many of their eating habits are surprisingly normal. Case in point: They even follow recipes from well-known chefs. Duchess Meghan famously made Ina Garten’s roast chicken recipe the night she got engaged to Prince Harry in 2017, which has helped the popular and tasty dish become known as “engagement chicken.” [ami-related id="1380813" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/food/pictures/duchess-meghan-markles-most-relatable-food-quotes/" title="Duchess Meghan's Most Relatable Food Quotes" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/duchess-meghan-food-cooking-3.jpg"] Duchess Kate is also partial to whipping up meals at home for her family, which includes Prince William and the couple’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The future queen of England has said that she loves to make pizzas with her growing brood, and even revealed she’s partial to topping her own pies with bacon. Despite being one of the youngest royals, Princess Charlotte is already developing some distinct eating habits of her own. During an event in February 2019, proud mom Kate revealed that her daughter “loves” olives. Curious to find out more about the royal family’s eating habits? Scroll down for more food-related tidbits!

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The Queen Eats Hamburgers With a Knife and Fork

While Queen Elizabeth II doesn't eat pizza, she does eat hamburgers ... with a knife and fork. Former royal chef Darren McGrady told Insider in September 2020: "Her Majesty's Victorian upbringing dictates that the only thing you would pick up and eat with your fingers is afternoon tea." This means that when burgers are served, they are always eaten with a fork and knife. They are also prepared without a bun.

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Prince William and Prince Harry Love Roast Chicken

While Meghan Markle's fondness for roast chicken is well-documented, former royal chef Darren McGrady, who cooked for the brothers for four years when they were children, revealed that Prince William and Prince Harry were once fans of the dish as well. "[They] both love roasted chicken," he told Us exclusively in August 2020. "[They also] love roast potatoes and potatoes that you bite into and all that fat runs down your chin," McGrady recalled. "Not healthy at all, but so good."

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Princess Diana Was an 'Awful Cook'

McGrady told Us that while the late princess would often come down to the kitchen to chat, preparing food wasn't exactly her strong suit. "The princess was an awful cook. She didn't like to cook at all in the kitchen," he said. When Diana did attempt to make pasta on one occasion, she forgot about it and the pot overflowed, extinguishing the pilot light and causing the kitchen to smell like gas. "She was so nervous. She called the palace fire brigade," McGrady recalled. "I remember Monday morning she came into the kitchen and she said, 'Darren, you won't believe the weekend. I nearly set the whole palace on fire!' It was a bit dramatic, but she said the best part was, 'I had twelve hunky fireman all to myself.'"

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The Queen Rarely Sets Foot in the Kitchen

"The kitchens at Buckingham Palace are so far away from the queen's quarters and she's so busy that we never really saw her," McGrady told Us. "When we traveled it was a bit different. At Sandringham the royal dining room was actually next door to the kitchen, so it was much easier for the queen just to pop in the kitchen. But that was pretty rare."

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Prince William Uses Uber Eats

Prince William isn't above using food delivery apps when he's got a hankering for something tasty. In July 2020, the royal had curry delivered to Kensington Palace via Uber Eats when he was recording his appearance on "That Peter Crouch Podcast." The meal, which was intended for himself and his guests — the podcast's hosts — came from a local restaurant in London.

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Duchess Kate Feeds Her Kids a Simple Breakfast

During a visit to the London Early Years Foundation Stockwell Gardens Nursery & Preschool in January 2020, the Duchess of Cambridge revealed that her three little ones — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — feast on a fairly simple breakfast every morning. The royal, who believes it’s important to start your day with a healthy meal, told some of the kids in attendance that her brood typically has “apples and cereal” for breakfast.

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The Queen Likes Her Steak Well Done

In a YouTube video published in January 2020, former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed that Queen Elizabeth II isn’t a fan of rare meat. “One of the things that really amazed me was that the queen actually likes her meat well done and chefs, we cook medium-rare all the time,” the culinary pro explained at the time. “It was really, really important that we got a really good sear on the steaks and cooked her steaks well done.”

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Prince Philip Enjoys Garlic

In that same video, McGrady shared that even though the queen detests garlic (and royals are generally encouraged to stay away from the pungent food), her husband has a fondness for it. “The queen doesn’t like garlic, but he does,” McGrady said of the prince. “So we’d actually put a little bit of garlic in [the food] for Prince Philip.”

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Duchess Kate Has a ‘Favorite’ Dessert

The royal is partial to sticky toffee pudding — a British classic that former royal chef Darren McGrady said is one of her “favorites” in January 2020. The Buckingham Palace version of the popular sweet treat uses dates instead of apricots for a “richer” flavor, and is topped with a sauce that contains molasses-like Muscovado sugar. “The Queen loved [sticky toffee pudding] at Sandringham Palace when it was really cold outside, when she was at Balmoral Castle, and the rest of the royal family did too,” McGrady recalled.

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Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Love Vegetables

Though the youngest members of the Cambridge family didn’t appear in A Berry Royal Christmas, Duchess Kate couldn’t help but divulge a bit about their eating habits. “We grow our own vegetables,” she said on the special. “We’ve got carrots, beans, beetroot — a massive favorite — Louis absolutely loves beetroot.” Princess Charlotte, on the other hand, is a fan of Charlotte potatoes.

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Prince William Cooks for Duchess Kate ‘Sometimes’

As Duchess Kate revealed during A Berry Royal Christmas special, the future king is no stranger to the kitchen. In fact, he “sometimes” cooks for his wife. “He’s very good at breakfast,” the duchess told Mary Berry. “In our university days he used to cook all sorts of meals. I think that’s when he was trying to impress me!”

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Duchess Kate Loves to Cook With Her Kids

The royal revealed she “really enjoys” cooking with her little ones during an appearance with Prince William and Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry in A Berry Royal Christmas special, which aired in December 2019. The mom of three told Berry that she sees cooking as a way for her children to be “creative” and “as independent as possible.” The duchess also explained that while pizza is a dish she makes with her brood, she prefers to handle creating birthday cakes for her little ones on her own. “It’s become a bit of a tradition that I stay up until midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much,” she said. “But I love it.”

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Prince Edward Has an Interesting Cake-Cutting Method

Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son showed off his unusual pastry-slicing technique during a visit to a community center in Northern Ireland in October 2019. Instead of simply cutting a single piece of the celebratory cake, the Earl of Wessex stood directly over the confection and stabbed the middle of it with knife. His method, which was more similar to the way one might gut a fish, drew plenty of curious Twitter responses. “This is a man who has never cut cake before,” joked one user.

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Prince William Likes Spicy Food, But It Doesn’t Always Like Him Back

At an event at the Aga Khan Center in London in October, the future king was overheard telling people he was looking forward to an upcoming royal trip to Pakistan because of the country’s spicy food. Though the royal “loves” a medium amount of spice, he apparently can’t take the heat. “Me and heat, not so good,” he declared. Duchess Kate, on the other hand, revealed that she prefers her curry “hot.” The mother of three also said daughter Princess Charlotte is “pretty good" when it comes to hot dishes. Like mother, like daughter!

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The Queen Is a Chocoholic

While there are certain foods that are off-limits to the royal family, chocolate is not one of them. In fact, Darren McGrady, who worked as a royal chef for more than a decade, told Us Weekly that the Queen used to pick her dishes for the week by consulting a menu book. Every time a chocolate dessert appeared on the lineup, the monarch would request it. As he recalled: “Anything on the menu that had chocolate, she’d choose, especially chocolate perfection pie.”

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Duchess Meghan Loves Ina Garten’s Roast Chicken Recipe

The California-born royal is hanging on to her American roots in the palace with a little help from some popular recipes. One of the Suits alum’s favorite dishes to prepare is Ina Garten’s roast chicken. In fact, the new mom reportedly whipped up the popular meal the night she and Prince Harry got engaged in 2017. When Garten was asked about her connection to the royal couple’s wedded bliss in 2018 she joked: “Without me, it never would have happened. Isn’t that a wonderful story? How powerful is that?”

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Queen Elizabeth II Can’t Stand Garlic

The queen isn’t known for being a terribly fussy eater, but there’s at least one food she avoids at all costs: garlic. Rumors of the queen’s distaste for the widely used spice had been swirling for quite some time, but Duchess Camilla confirmed that garlic is banned at royal events during an appearance on MasterChef Australia in July 2018. “I hate to say this, but garlic,” she confessed when asked about what she wouldn’t like to see served at a royal reception. “Garlic is a no-no.”

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Prince Philip Has a Fondness for Truffles

While his wife exhibits disdain for pungent garlic, Prince Philip has made it clear he’s rather fond of another strong-smelling food: truffles. The Duke of Edinburgh became the first person in Britain to successfully grow his own black truffles in 2018 after planting more than 300 saplings impregnated with truffle spores on the grounds of the royal family’s Sandringham estate about 12 years prior. He’s been enjoying the fruits of his labor since Christmas 2018.

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Duchess Kate Likes to Put Bacon on Her Pizza

Not only is the Duchess of Cambridge a fan of pizza, but she’s got some pretty strong opinions when it comes to what adorns the pie, too. “I think they’re some of the best things to make, pizzas at home,” the royal said during a visit to King Henry’s Walk Garden with several children in London in January 2019. “It’s such fun, you can choose what you can put on them – all the different toppings.” The mother of three revealed she’s partial to putting bacon on her pizza. “I quite like that,” she explained to the young onlookers. “Or some other meat. It’s like having pepperoni but it’s not as spicy.”

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But The Queen’s Pizza-Eating Habits Remain a Mystery

During that same event, one of the children asked Duchess Kate if the queen has ever had pizza. “You know, that’s such a good question. I don’t know,” the stumped royal answered. “I don’t know. Maybe next time I see her, shall I ask?”

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Princess Charlotte’s Favorite Food Is Olives

Ever a wealth of food-related information, Duchess Kate revealed daughter Charlotte’s favorite food during a visit to the Lavender Primary School in Enfield Town, England, in February 2019. “Charlotte loves olives,” the University of St Andrews grad dished.

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Royals Have a Soft Spot for Beer

Just about every member of the royal family has been photographed drinking beer on at least one occasion. Though there is a bevy of food-related rules in place for the royals, they are permitted to drink in public at officially sanctioned royal events, and beer is a popular libation of choice. Just look at Prince Charles and Duchess Camila toasting with their massive beer steins during a trip to Germany in May 2019.