Rumors abound about the habits of King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales, starting with the news that travel with your own toilet seat to stories about how he likes the perfect egg. One thing is for sure, the now King of England is very particular about certain things, especially his food.
former chef of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8, and the royal family, Darren McGrady has said that King Charles is definitely a foodie who needed to know where the food came from. “I was in organic farming 30 years ago… even before it was invented,” McGrady said.
King Charles, like his mother, is very particular about his eating habits. while we played Queen Elizabeth’s daily routine in a previous article, prince philip he was also highly regimented when it came to taking care of himself; after all, he lived to be 99 years old. It is safe to say that King Charles has very good genes and has learned to take care of himself and what he eats. However, he does have some interesting quirks and habits that his parents didn’t when it comes to food and some more modern habits.
Before we talk about what King Charles might eat on a daily basis, it’s important to note that his general view of food is that it should be seasonal and organic. As McGrady points out and former royal chef Carolyn Webb said in marie claire“It was all based on what was in season in the garden. In asparagus season, I might serve it three or four times a week. You wouldn’t dare serve asparagus or strawberries in December.”
The family grew produce and raised their own animals on their many properties. The queen and Carlos kept bees (which had to be specially informed about his death). The Queen famously started growing produce at Buckingham Palaceand loved her Scottish wild strawberries at Balmoral, which she was known for choosing herself. Charles also liked to search for wild mushrooms there, as many mushrooms were found on the 50,000-acre Balmoral Estate. According to McGradythey were collected, sautéed with some herbs, and then frozen for use throughout the year.
Furthermore, it is reported that Charles avoid meat two days a week and dairy one day a week. “If more did that, it would take a lot of pressure off,” she said of his efforts to reduce his carbon footprint.
How serious is Charles about sustainability? Apparently he has an old Aston Martin that “runs” on wine and cheese. The Aston Martin was actually converted to run on E85 bioethanol made from by-products of the wine and cheese industries in 2008, according to your own website.
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While of course many things can change now that Charles is king, when he was a prince, his day started with a very healthy breakfast. Anecdotes of what it included change, but it was usually fresh fruit, muesli, or some sort or other whole grain mixed with seeds soaked in fruit juice and tea. McGrady scores in a video who loves garden plums poached in juice with a bit of muesli.
Muesli was invented in Switzerland by a doctor and was kind of like our modern overnight oatmeal with oats, fruit and seeds or nuts soaked in dairy or fruit juice. The difference between muesli and granola is that, like overnight oats, it is served without cooking.
As a prince, Charles was rumored to wear a breakfast box with the. Former Royal Chef Graham Newbould, once a chef on the Royal Yacht Britannia, said the box would typically contain around six types of honey, muesli and “anything that’s a little special that I’m a little picky about”. Since Charles and his mother were beekeeperswe guess it was their own special honey too!
Eggs weren’t usually included for breakfast except on weekends, and I only ate them later in the day.
All sources, including Charles’s old website before he became king, can attest to one truth about the now-king: he doesn’t eat lunch. Numerous media outlets have reported that King Charles skips lunch entirely unless it’s part of the day’s duty. When Charles turned 70, his website published a list of 70 facts about the then Prince, and number 20 was simply: “The Prince does not eat lunch”. Perhaps he subsists all day on his favorite tea, which is Darjeeling with honey and milk.
Chef Grady supports this, noting that, at least during his tenure, it happened on rare occasions. “There may be a lunch, there may not be a lunch,” Grady said. “Maybe a sandwich.” Sometimes, if he was painting in the field, he would bring a sandwich. One thing the experienced staff knew, reports Masableit’s that they needed to have a big breakfast because if Charles had a busy day, there would be no stopping.
What about those hard boiled eggs? They were reported to have arrived later that day, around 5:30 pm, when Charles sat down to tea. Maybe he would even eat them with buns, which it is said that he likes it a lot.
One thing that keeps popping up again and again is how seriously King Charles views his hard-boiled eggs. Rumors that he had the kitchen prepare seven eggs that he would choose for the perfect 3- or 4-minute egg were reportedly false, according to his former press secretary. Julian Payne. But according to Charles Formal Personal Chef, they needed to boil for exactly four minutes, although others report three. Suffice it to say that he was serious about his eggs, and it’s possible they came from his own chickens, perhaps from Highgrove.
What King Charles doesn’t eat during the day he makes up for at dinner. Those wild mushrooms picked at Balmoral feature prominently in his favorite dinner, which McGrady says is seared lamb served with wild mushroom risotto. Watch McGrady prepare the royal dish! He was also known for invent your own dishes with the wild hunt he hunted. His version of moussaka with grouse even had its own special name: groussaka.
If dessert is ever on the menu, Charles is unlikely to partake in any chocolate; unlike her late mother, who reportedly loved her, he doesn’t care at all.
