What are the royal family's favourite foods?

When they’re not attending official banquets, or dining with Heads Of State, Presidents or other kings and queens from around the world, the royal family eat in the comfort of their own home.

Although they might have their own chefs to cook their weekly meals, the royals favourite foods are just like ours – so you likely won’t find the Queen snacking on caviar or the Duchess of Cambridge sipping on champagne!

What foods do Kate Middleton and Prince William like to eat?

It’s well known that Kate’s diet primarily consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats and juices.

It's commonly reported that the Kate Middleton diet is a very healthy one, full of fresh organic produce. And over the years, it's been said that both she and her mother, Carole Middleton and sister, Pippa, follow the Atkins diet, a low-carb eating plan that is targeted towards weight loss.

However, the Duchess has admitted that she enjoys Indian food (who doesn’t love a takeaway?!) and is generally a fan of spicy food – unlike Prince William who can’t stomach anything too hot or spicy. Both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge like to snack on popcorn – we wonder whether they go for sweet or salted?

However, there’s one food that William in particular loves. On a recent royal visit, the Duke revealed he’s not much cop in the kitchen, but does have one signature dish he turns to when he’s at a loose end.

People magazine reported that William admitted, “I like a roast. So a bit of roast chicken or a steak.

“I like it medium rare. I like it quite alive.”

Recently, the Duchess of Cambridge also told Mary Berry that there's one food that she loves to cook with her kids - pizza! She told her, "Actually one of the last things we cooked, together, was your pizza dough. We made pizzas with your pizza dough recipe...They absolutely loved it."

What foods do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle like to eat?

Before marrying Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex was a well-known foodie, regularly sharing her love of good, healthy fare in interviews.

In fact, she even shared much of her daily diet and favourite recipes on her former lifestyle website, The Tig.

She explained in an interview with EyeSwoon back in 2015 that her diet has been hugely influenced by her California upbringing, meaning she loves healthy, fresh foods. Meghan said, "We are so spoiled with our produce there, and my love of simple ingredients prepped well is completely linked to that. Acai bowls, green juices, chopped salads, perfect sushi, grilled fish tacos … Those are all things that make me think of home."

Of course, Prince Harry famously proposed to Meghan whilst the pair were roasting a chicken at home, so it's likely that the couple regularly indulge in a Sunday lunch with little Archie too!

What food does the Queen like to eat?

Former Buckingham Palace cook Darren McGrady, who spent 11 years cooking for the royal family, has also revealed what the royals love to eat behind closed doors – and some of them are quite surprising!

Darren originally worked for the Queen, and he revealed that she’s quite the chocoholic, with her favourite sweet treat being Darren’s homemade chocolate mousse. A woman after our own heart!

Darren however noted that the Queen is very disciplined with her food, and is "not a foodie. She eats to live, unlike Prince Philip who loves to eat and would stand and talk food all day."

When speaking to the Daily Mail, he explained that she often has a 'no starch' rule, meaning no potato or pasta at the dinner table. She keeps this simple for lunch, tucking in to a simple grilled fish or chicken, with salad or vegetables.

She does however enjoy a daily afternoon tea, and reportedly, prefers toast and marmalade, or cereal, for breakfast.

Of course, the monarch is known for her love of a tipple, and reportedly loves a gin and Dubonnet before lunch! A lady after our own hearts...

Which foods did Princess Diana like to eat?

After Princess Diana and Prince Charles split up, Darren went to work for Diana personally, and he was charged with helping her maintain her healthy eating habits.

Darren revealed to the Daily Mail that the late Princess liked to watch her figure and instructed him, “You take care of the fats, I’ll take care of the carbs at the gym,'” when he was cooking her meals.

Even though Princess Diana liked to eat well, she also liked to indulge occasionally too! Apparently her weakness was bread and butter pudding, and Darren revealed that her guilty pleasure was to go into the kitchen whenever he was making it so she could eat all the raisins off the top. We love this!

What is the royal family favourite food?

So, Kate likes to be good and stick to fruit juices, but the Queen indulges in the odd chocolate mousse. The Duchess enjoys Indian food but the Duke hates spicy dishes – so it must be difficult to please all members of the royal family at once!

However, former royal family chef Enrico Derflingher managed to find a dish that suited everyone’s preferences. The Italian cook revealed that his take on a ‘Queen Victoria Risotto’ was, “a favourite of the royal household.” The royal family favourite is made with Sicilian red shrimps, parmesan, herbs and Italian sparkling wine. Sounds like a delicious seafood dish!

And lastly, there’s one thing that you will NEVER see the royals eating. According to various sources, the royal family are actually forbidden from eating shellfish. Why? Because of the risks of food poising associated with the food. So no crabs, prawns or mussels for family when on, or about to go on, official duties.

Along the same line of thinking, the royals are also apparently advised against eating red meat that might be cooked rare or drinking the tap water while they are in foreign countries – which may well be why the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge insisted on a vegetarian only diet while they completed their royal tour of India and Bhutan in 2016.

This is supposedly to avoid the royals having an stomach problems or digestion issues whilst away, not wanting a sudden illness to interfere with their busy schedules. Seems sensible to us!