Here's What the Royal Family Eats for Christmas, According to Former Royal Chef
The British royal family is just like us when it comes to celebrating the holidays. No really, hear me out.
Though the Windsors get to congregate and celebrate inside a massive castle in Sandringham, the rest of their Christmas celebration is pretty normal. And that includes their Christmas dinner, which their former royal chef calls downright boring.
"It was the same meal every year," Former royal chef Darren McGrady 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."
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According to McGrady, the young children, who at the time included Prince William and Prince Harry, were relegated to eating at the kid’s table in the nursery alongside their nannies.
"The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table," he shared. "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."
As McGrady added, the royal family loved their holiday sides, which included sage and onion stuffing, roasted chestnuts, roast potatoes, mash potatoes, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts. Of course, the family doesn’t skip dessert either.
"The pudding was made in pudding basins, turned out, decorated in holly, doused in brandy and then the palace steward would carry it, flaming, into the royal dining room," McGrady said. "It was so traditional."
Beyond the food, the family reportedly takes part in their annual tradition of giving one another hilarious white elephant gifts. As Travel + Leisure previously shared, the family stays away from giving one another expensive gifts and chooses to compete to see who can give the cheapest and silliest present. According to Express, Prince Harry may be the reigning champ as he once gave Queen Elizabeth a shower cap that read "Ain't life a bitch?" See, like I said, just like us.
