As the monarch of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, you'd expect the Queen's eating habits to be pretty strict, with numerous personal chefs who wine and dine her during every hour of the day. However, it turns out that Queen Elizabeth is just like everyone else and enjoys a takeaway now and again.
O'Grady spoke about how Queen Elizabeth was never a fan of McDonald's or KFC but did in fact have a hankering for one kind of fast food in particular. The food? Hamburgers. Yes, Her Majesty was similar to the majority of the population in the sense that she loved a hamburger just as much as the next person.
Queen Elizabeth II didn't eat fast food
And if she ever got a craving for it, the chefs would cook up their own versions. She was especially particular about burgers, only eating them without the bun. McGrady told Insider, "They would have burgers, but not the buns. So they would eat it with their knife and fork."
The queen has a number of people on staff who cook for her and there aren't any reports that she has ever had to make her meals herself. But she does prepare her own breakfast. For the most important meal of the day, the monarch eats cereal and fetches it herself.
Yes, the Queen gets the occasional takeaway! According to The Sun, the monarch is rather partial to fish and chips and sometimes treats herself to dinner from the local chippy when staying at Balmoral. A footman is reportedly sent to pick up her meal from nearby town Ballater.
But what does Her Majesty choose when she's rifling through the local restaurant menus? The nation's favourite dish: fish and chips, of course. 'She very occasionally treats herself to fish and chips when at Balmoral,' the source said, speaking to Fabulous Digital.
The Queen is reportedly not a fan of rare meat - according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, she likes her meat well done. Royals are also prohibited from eating foods containing raw meat such as steak tartare when on official engagements to avoid food poisoning.
Queen Elizabeth has also been seen at Quaglinos in St James's, which has welcomed in many a royal, from Princess Margaret to Princess Di to Prince Harry. The luxe restaurant and bar claims not only was The Queen the first monarch to dine out - ever - but her first restaurant - also ever - was Quaglinos.
And, according to McGrady, while the Queen eats the same breakfast pretty much every day (Earl Grey tea and a bowl of Special K cereal) and opts for simple dishes like grilled chicken or grilled fish (alongside a gin cocktail or the occasional chocolate) for the rest of the day, it's the “jam penny” sandwich that she's ...
Her diet is painfully monotonous, following the same daily formula: tea and cereal for breakfast, protein and veggies for lunch and dinner, with an afternoon tea sandwich snack break. She abstains from all breads, pastas, and starches.
“The menus at Buckingham Palace are very traditional French, which wouldn't lean towards having pizza on it,” he told Insider. “Her Majesty's Victorian upbringing dictates that the only thing you would pick up and eat with your fingers is afternoon tea.”
Reports are conflicting, but her former staff have cited her partiality to Darjeeling tea, as well as Assam and Earl Grey, with no sugar. If you're wondering what cereal The Queen ate, her choice was apparently Kellogg's Special K, although she also dabbled with Quaker Oats and Weetabix.
But one thing we might not expect the Queen to own is a McDonald's. Spoiler alert: she does. Located on the edge of Oxfordshire, the restaurant is a mere one and a half hour drive from Central London. With leather sofas and table service, it's fit for a Queen.
McGrady also shared that pasta is forbidden (albeit only at dinner time) by Her Majesty too, as she's not a fan of carbs in the evening. "When she dines on her own she's very disciplined. No starch is the rule. No potatoes, rice or pasta for dinner.
"Every day begins with an egg, and they're eaten for tea, too – with crumpets, if you're Prince Charles. The Queen favours brown eggs, believing that they taste better. Her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, ate her boiled egg, served in a golden egg cup, with a golden spoon."
Queen Elizabeth II has eaten jam sandwiches every day since she was a toddler, according to her former private chef.
Simple cooked meat and vegetables lead the way, with space for pheasant or venison should the Queen wish. Of course, Queen Elizabeth loved a Sunday roast just as much as anyone else. Along with chocolate, the Queen enjoyed some strawberries or peaches for dessert.
Darren, who also worked at Kensington Palace for four years, said of the Queen's savoury choices: "For a main course she loved game, things like Gaelic steak, fillet steak with a mushroom whisky sauce, especially if we did it with venison. The former royal chef revealed the Queen loves chocolate!
Does the Queen ever cook for herself? McGrady says that while Prince Philip was an “amazing chef” and regularly enjoyed cooking on the grill and having family BBQs on the Balmoral estate, and the younger royals like William, Kate, Meghan and Harry, all enjoy cooking, the Queen herself stays out of the kitchen.
On occasions, the royals also get to shop while they work. Some of their engagements have taken them to department stores, markets and some of the most well-known high street brands. Check out HELLO!'s favourite photos of the Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales and more, among the aisles.
Lunch. Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, says Her Majesty loves a tipple before lunch. Her afternoon go-to cocktail is gin and Dubonnet with a slice of lemon and lots of ice and then a glass of wine with lunch. Darren says a typical lunch would be fish and vegetables, like Dover sole on a bed of wilted spinach.
You shouldn't eat first.
It's customary that the Queen should take the first bite at the table and when she's done eating, you should be too.
chocolate biscuit cake from the British royal kitchen
Chocolate biscuit cake is Queen Elizabeth's favorite cake ~ she would take a small slice every day with her tea, until the cake was finished, and then she'd start on a fresh one!
Tuna mayonnaise sandwiches
A former royal chef recently claimed the Queen's favourite sandwich was tuna mayonnaise. He said that the sandwich always had to be generously buttered and topped with thin slices of cucumber, plus a sprinkle of black pepper on top.
What was Queen Elizabeth's favorite food? As a young girl, Princess Elizabeth's favorite food was jam pennies–tiny, crustless sandwiches made with white bread, strawberry jam, and butter. The affinity for these little finger sandwiches extended into her adult life and throughout her reign.