Former royal chef Darren McGrady, who served the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has shared a sneak peek into the Royal Family 's Christmas feasts.
Each year, members of the Royal Family come together for the festive period and traditionally spend time at King Charles' residence, Sandringham House in Norfolk. The sprawling country house has a plethora of bedrooms and is situated within 20,000 acres – the perfect setting for a royal Christmas.
The Royal Family indulges in a lavish Christmas feast that spans breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The day kicks off with a full English breakfast, setting the tone for the festivities. Following a traditional visit to church, lunch is served, featuring a classic menu of turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and Christmas pudding for dessert.
"It was the same meal every year," Darren told HELLO!. "They're actually boring when it comes to festivities! They didn't do hams or anything, just traditional turkeys. We did three turkeys for the Queen and her family in the royal dining room, one for the children's nursery and then more for the 100 or so staff, so everyone had a Christmas lunch."
Darren revealed that the late Queen and senior royals dined in the main room, while the younger generation, including Princes and Princesses, had their lunch in the nursery.
He added: "So for the Queen, there was never a case of putting a high chair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food. It was Victorian. The children's place was in the nursery and Nanny would take care of them. It's your modern-day Downton Abbey ."
After lunch, the family takes a stroll around Sandringham Estate before gathering to watch the King's speech. The day continues with afternoon tea, featuring treats like the chocolate Yule log, scones, mince pies, sandwiches, and the Christmas cake.
Darren explained: "We'd make one big Christmas cake for the Queen and the royal family and then another smaller one for the nursery for Prince William, Prince Harry, Zara, Peter, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. It was always fruit cake – royal icing, marzipan and the traditional fruit cake."
The evening buffet, described by Darren as "even more elaborate" than lunch, concludes the day's feasting. Traditionally, a whole foie gras en croute from Harrods was part of the spread, accompanied by a whole Stilton cheese and a big York ham. However, King Charles has since banned foie gras in royal residences, so an alternative is now served.
The buffet is an opulent affair, and after carving all the meat, the Queen used to toast the Head Chef with a whisky as a gesture of gratitude.
Darren, who worked for Princess Diana until her death, shared fond memories of her love for the crepe soufflé dessert, which he would discreetly reserve for her after lunch, as she was hesitant to ask for seconds in front of the Queen.
On Boxing Day Her Majesty and other visitors at Sandringham begin Boxing Day with a buffet breakfast featuring kedgeree, bacon and eggs.
The chef then added some basmati rice, four hard-boiled eggs, curry powder, milk, cream and fresh parsley to complete the recipe fit for a queen.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Darren said: “One of the most popular breakfast dishes that I cooked for the Royal Family – one of their favourites and mine too – is a dish called kedgeree.
“It's the ultimate comfort food dish that was brought over to the Victorians in the era of the Raj by the returning British colonials.”
As part of their Boxing Day celebrations, the family typically spend their time embracing the outdoors at Sandringham in Norfolk, partaking in activities such as horse riding, walking and shooting.
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