In the early years of the Victorian era breakfast would have consisted, if you could afford it, of cold meats, cheese and beer. In time this was replaced by porridge, fish, eggs and bacon - the "full English".
Breakfast tended to be a large meal and would have included ham, eggs, bacon, bread and fish. This was followed by a light lunch and afternoon tea. The evening meal was the main meal of the day and had many different courses. Wealthy Victorian families would often throw large dinner parties.
Poor families ate more carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes and porridge oats, as these were cheaper and more filling. Bread with lard or dripping spread across it was a staple meal. Seasonal vegetables were also a large part of their diets. These include onions, turnips, cabbages, apples and parsnips.
By the eighteenth century breakfast...was eaten around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Only in the nineteenth century did it emerge as a full and sumptuous meal with bacon, eggs and even steaks.
The most commonly eaten meat was pork. Poorer people ate the shin and cheek as these could be stewed with vegetables. Richer people could afford pork chops or a whole pork joint for Sunday lunch. Later in the Victorian era, bacon became a popular choice at breakfast eaten alongside kippers, eggs and porridge.
Popular foods included beef, mutton, port, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, rice, porridge oats, milk, vegetables, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Breakfast might consist of stoneground bread smeared with dripping or lard, with a large bunch of watercress.
Many Victorian meals were served at home as a family, prepared by cooks and servants who had studied French and Italian cookbooks. Middle and upper class breakfasts typically consisted of porridge, eggs, fish and bacon. They were eaten together as a family. Sunday lunches included meat, potatoes, vegetables and gravy.
Queen Elizabeth prefered to keep it simple when it came to breakfast. A bowl of Special K with some assorted fruits was apparently her go-to meal to get the day started the right way. On special occasions, she allegedly treated herself to some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon if she felt like it!
The Queen liked to eat several courses for breakfast each day at her homes of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle – did you know that she woke up to tea and biscuits in bed followed by a sit-down breakfast of cereal and toast?
For many poor people across Britain, white bread made from bolted wheat flour was the staple component of the diet. When they could afford it, people would supplement this with vegetables, fruit and animal-derived foods such as meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs - a Mediterranean-style diet.
In fact, breakfast was actively frowned upon. "The Romans believed it was healthier to eat only one meal a day," she says. "They were obsessed with digestion and eating more than one meal was considered a form of gluttony.
Before cereal, in the mid 1800s, the American breakfast was not all that different from other meals. Middle- and upper-class Americans ate eggs, pastries, and pancakes, but also oysters, boiled chickens, and beef steaks.
Following entrees chilled champagne, a favourite with the ladies, might be served. But it wasn't all alcohol in the Victorian home. Lemonade, root beer, hot tea and, yes, Perrier that had recently being introduced, were all popular beverages.
Barley bread, porridge, gruel and pasta, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
For the poorest a sandwich of bread and watercress was the most common. At the start of the week, porridge made with water might be possible. Lunch involved bread, combined with cheese if possible or more watercress. At the start of the week, soup could occasionally be bought as cheap street food.
He'd have homemade bread, a bowl of fresh fruit, and fresh fruit juices. "Wherever the Prince goes in the world, the breakfast box goes with him. He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit and anything that's a bit special that he is a bit fussy about."
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.
Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96, as the world's oldest head of state. She favored "sensible exercise" over rigorous workouts and loved spending time in nature. The Queen liked simple, healthy meals, but also enjoyed a daily gin and ate dark chocolate.
Prince Edward, 58, Earl of Wessex
Out of all of the kids, Prince Edward, now known as the Earl of Wessex, is believed to be the Queen and Prince Philip's favorite child.
The Queen preferred grilled fish or chicken, served simply with vegetables. She generally skipped starches like potatoes, grains, or rice during her evening meal.
For breakfast, bacon, eggs and sausages are his usual raw materials, though he often cooks kidneys and omelettes."
O'Grady explained how Queen Elizabeth preferred her burgers without a bun. O'Grady said 'It always tickled me at Balmoral, we would make our own burgers, They would shoot deer, and we would do venison burgers. There'd be gorgeous cranberry and everything stuffed into them, but we never set buns out. '
Mealtimes with the queen
Of course, she did not necessarily eat everything on offer, but felt it was important to have a choice. Dinners might entail soup, fish, cold boiled chicken or roast beef, dessert and fruits, perhaps some of the pineapples grown specially for the royal household.
In the Victorian period, babies were fed broth, milk and diluted wine in special baby feeders. Toddlers were given posset, a warm milk drink believed to have medicinal properties. Diluted wine or ale added to the milk made it curdle, while lemon juice, sugar and cream gave it flavour.
The main fruits were apples in the winter and cherries in the summer. The Victorians also ate lots of healthy, fibre-rich nuts, such as chestnuts and hazelnuts, which were often roasted and bought from street-corner sellers.