Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her official birthday on April 21st, and while her birthday plans may be private, we do know is that her favourite chocolate birthday cake will be on the afternoon tea menu. Just like most of us, the Royals have a family birthday cake recipe.
Little less known was her love of chocolate biscuit cake, typically returning to nibble on it until the entire cake was finished, according to Chef Darren McGrady, her former personal chef.
When it's time to treat herself, McGrady revealed that all the Queen wants is a piece of chocolate biscuit cake. The cake is reportedly made in-house (or, more appropriately, in-palace), and Her Majesty consumes one slice per day.
The Queen has a favourite dessert - and her former royal chef has explained exactly how to make it. Her Majesty's go-to dessert is a rich, mint and chocolatey delight known as a Bombe Glacée Royale. Her Majesty is such a huge fan that a fruity version was even served at her wedding in 1947.
The Queen herself favors chocolate cake above all other teatime treats. Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef and former personal chef to the Queen herself, says that there is seldom any leftover chocolate cake, and if there is, the Queen travels with it.
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.
Tea and biscuits
The Queen started her day with a cup of hot Earl Grey tea with milk, no sugar, and a few biscuits. In England, cookies or crackers are called biscuits. A piece in Hello! revealed that her all-time favorite biscuits were Chocolate Bath Olivers which are crunchy cookies enrobed in chocolate.
Apparently, she heads to bed at 10.30pm each evening in order to get a good night's sleep. The bling is stunning, obviously. Regular exercise is also said to help with sleep and Kate leads an active lifestyle, often talking about how she loves to get outdoors – it's thought that she runs or walks every day.
For breakfast she keeps things simple. Royal biographer, Katie Nicholl, has previously said: "HRH typically starts with a simple cup of tea and biscuits, followed by a bowl of cereal." (The Guardian previously reported she likes to keep it in Tupperware to preserve its freshness.)
Queen Elizabeth is believed to have left an estate worth approximately 782 million dollars solely to her son, King Charles. King Charles' inheritance from his mother will not be taxed due to the fact that money exchanged from "monarch to monarch" is exempt from taxation.
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.
Queen Elizabeth was famously crowned wearing Clarins cosmetics, after commissioning the company to create a shade of lipstick that went with her coronation robes.
"Queen Elizabeth cake" is named after the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, and may have first been made in 1953 for her coronation. Another account holds that it was invented for the 1937 coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London.
The Queen's favorite cake isn't actually a traditional cake, but something known as a tiffin. It is made in the shape of a cake, but it is not baked. Instead, biscuits (cookies) are broken and folded into a chocolate mixture which is chilled and coated in more chocolate.
While her coffin is draped in the Royal Standard – a flag representing the Sovereign and the UK, it will have the Imperial State Crown mounted on it. Additionally, The Queen's orb and her sceptre will also be spread on her coffin before she is laid to rest.
Queen Elizabeth never wears the same outfit twice at important events. Therefore, the sovereign prefers to either change her outfits and if she gets bored of them, she sends them to her dressers, who are then allowed to either wear them themselves or sell them.
But perhaps the worst rule of all is the fact that absolutely nobody, not even Prince Philip, is allowed to go to bed before the Queen. According to Sir William Heseltine, one of the Queen's former private secretaries, it's considered bad form to go to bed before Her Majesty.
“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.”
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.
The Queen. Very rarely does Her Majesty dine out. If she does, it's for special occasions and events only.
Appearing on Yahoo Movies, Blessed said that Her Majesty told him her favourite movie was pulpy sci-fi classic Flash Gordon. “It's her favourite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas,” said Blessed.
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.
According to the royal chef Darren, "Her favourite dish was bell peppers stuffed with zucchini, mushrooms, rice, garlic topped with Parmesan and mozzarella and finished with a smoked tomato and pepper sauce." "She asked for this dish several times a week."