What the British Royal Family Really Eats at Home

There’s no denying that the British Royal family does spend many days and evenings eating formal, five-course meals, with the world’s most influential and famous as their guests. Seated at long tables, served on silver platters, drinking the finest wines from the palace’s cellars is how many of the royal family’s dinners are enjoyed, but not all of them. When the members of the royal family are alone, having a quiet night in without any guests to impress, caviar, truffles, and foie gras aren’t the norm. Instead, there will be roast chicken, bowls of salad, and perfectly soft-boiled eggs.

The classic British meal of sausages and mashed potatoes is popular in all the royal households. Obviously, the sausages should come from Prince Charles’ estate. We know that Prince Charles loves grilling outside, so in the warmer months, we hope he cooks those sausages himself on his grill in the palace gardens.

The Queen loves chocolate, and Prince William and Prince Harry seem to have inherited this gene. The Queen’s favorite cake to have alongside her afternoon cup of tea is this classic chocolate biscuit cake. Both Prince William and Prince Harry have fond childhood memories of making and eating this sweet treat. In fact, this cake is so important to Prince William that he served this simple chocolate cake as his groom’s cake at his wedding.

For the Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake recipe, click here.

The Queen often just has fresh fruit for dessert, but if chocolate mousse is offered, she can’t resist. As an undeniable chocolate addict, this is one of the Queen’s all-time favorite desserts.

For the Chocolate Mousse recipe, click here.

While the Queen eats a slice of chocolate biscuit cake for tea, you’ll find Prince Charles digging into an egg served on a crumpet at the same time. He insists that the egg be perfectly cooked, and the crumpet carefully toasted: A lot of work goes into this mid-afternoon snack.

When at the royal Scottish estate Balmoral during the summer months, the royal family makes the most of the estate’s ripe, delicate strawberries. If not eaten as they are, they tend to be transformed into Eton mess, a popular British dessert made of smashed meringues, whipped cream, and strawberries.

For the Eton Mess recipe, click here.

When not hosting a state dinner, the royal family tends to eat clean, healthy food. This means a rich dessert is not served every day. Instead, most meals end with a selection of fresh, seasonal, and organic fruit.

When he was younger, Prince Harry used to sneak down to the kitchens to ask the cooks for a golden treacle tart. The cook knew how much he loved them, so always had a supply on hand to please the Prince’s sugar cravings.

Lunch for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh often consists of a bowl of grilled chicken salad. So much of their lives is spent entertaining and hosting that they try to eat healthily whenever the opportunity arises.

For Healthy Grilled Chicken Salad recipes, click here.

On a night off, the Queen and Prince Philip don’t dig into another rich, hearty meal of roast beef, lobster, and soufflés. Instead, they try to stay away from starchy carbohydrates, and tend to have a beautiful piece of elegantly grilled fish with some local vegetables.

The younger generations of royalty aren’t complete strangers to the foods most kids eat, but the version they’re used to differs from the rest of us. Frozen fish fingers are not seen inside Buckingham Palace, however a homemade version has always been popular with the royal children.

For the Homemade Fish Fingers recipe, click here.

In the winter months, a comforting bowl of Irish stew regularly appears at the British royals’ dining table. This hearty dinner is filling, satisfying, and is typically made with meat and vegetables from their own royal estates.

For the Irish Stew recipe, click here.

The royal family hates food waste, and won’t let anything edible be thrown away. As a result, they make the most of everything that is grown on their land. Prince Charles has a vast amount of lovage growing at his home, so bowl after bowl of lovage soup is enjoyed throughout the spring and early summer.

For the Lovage Soup recipe, click here.

Prince Charles loves hunting and shooting, so game, such as pheasant, quail, and duck, are regularly enjoyed by the royals. To make sure none of the roast pheasant goes to waste, the meat is transformed into crunchy, delicious rissoles by the kitchen staff, and served as an appetizer the next day.

For the Rissoles recipe, click here.

It comes as no surprise that every member of the royal family loves a perfectly brewed cup of tea. They opt for proper English breakfast tea in the morning and early afternoon, and fresh mint tea after dinner.

Every British royal household loves serving a perfect roast chicken for dinner. Nothing beats this classic dish, which is comforting, fairly healthy, and popular with all the family.

For the Perfect Roast Chicken recipe, click here.

Leftover roast lamb or minced lamb is often used to make a Shepherd’s pie. While Prince William claims that his Shepherd’s pie is unbeatable, this dish is loved by everyone, and is often made by William, Kate, and the royal kitchen staff.

For the Shepherd’s Pie recipe, click here.

If she’s treating herself, the Queen will move away from her usual healthy breakfast cereal and allow herself a plate of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. If she’s been gifted any truffles recently, a few shavings of them will be dusted on top for an indulgent start to the day.

To learn how to make the perfect scrambled eggs, click here.

Prince Charles is well known for his particularity about his soft-boiled eggs. Rumor has it that he is served seven eggs every morning, and chooses the one which has been cooked best. However, he has denied this when questioned. What we do know is that he has a soft-boiled egg, cooked for four minutes, every morning.

For the Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs recipe, click here.

When not indulging in truffle-topped smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, the Queen will have a bowl of Special K for breakfast. She demands that the cereal be kept sealed in a Tupperware container to stop it from going stale: The royal way to start the day isn’t so different from ours.

Kate Middleton is an advocate of healthy, organic, seasonal eating. But her favorite dessert is a sticky toffee pudding. This rich, sweet dessert is a British classic, so is perfectly suited to be a royal’s favorite treat.

For the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe, click here.

After church every Sunday morning, the Queen, Prince Philip, and any other visiting family members will sit down to a proper Sunday roast. Roast beef, lamb, or game will take center stage, and will be accompanied by Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.

For the Rare Roast Beef With Gravy recipe, click here.