royal dinners

Royal ladies' favourite dinners: The Queen, Duchess Kate and more

From the finest cuisine to pizza and pasta!

Parenting Editor
May 14, 2021

Those royal ladies are a healthy bunch and while most of them have a home chef to cater to their every foodie request, some love to cook for their families too.

From the Duchess of Cambridge getting her three children involved in meal prep, to Meghan Markle's passion for organic foods and Duchess Camilla growing her own fruit and vegetables at Highgrove, the regal set like to get stuck in.

Here, we take a look at what the royal ladies like to eat for dinner…

MORE: Carole Middleton's daily diet: what Duchess Kate's mother likes to eat

WATCH: See Duchess Kate's daily diet

The Duchess of Cambridge

The wife of Prince William may look to have a glamorous life, but at home, Kate eats just like us: roasts, pasta and curries.

Kate has previously revealed she is a fan of spicy food – although she did disclose ahead of her royal tour of India that unlike her, her husband "struggles" with spices. Roast chicken is another popular meal in the Cambridge household.

Duchess Kate loves to cook with her children

Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair in 2012: "In the evenings she indulges her hobby of cooking William’s favourite supper, roast chicken."

Pasta is a favourite too and it's so sweet how Prince George and Princess Charlotte get involved with the cooking.

People reported that during a visit to Lavender Primary School, the royal told Matthew Kleiner-Mann: "She was telling us how much her children love cooking and how they cook for her. They made cheesy pasta the other day. One stirs the flour, one puts the milk and butter in. And they make salads and stuff."

The Duchess of Sussex

Prince Harry's wife Meghan loves cooking and Sunday dinner is one of her favourite meals. The Duchess told Today: "I am a big fan of Sunday suppers. Whether we're eating lamb tagine, pot roast or a hearty soup, the idea of gathering for a hearty meal with friends and family on a Sunday makes me feel comforted."

Duchess Meghan doing a food tasting while pregnant

"I enjoy making slow-cooked food on Sundays, like Filipino-style chicken adobo. It's so easy—combine garlic, soy (or Bragg Liquid Aminos), vinegar, maybe some lemon and let the chicken swim in that sauce until it falls off the bone in a Crock-Pot."

Meghan also loves traditional American dish mac and cheese, telling EyeSwoon: "I now buy the Annie’s organic one if I’m craving it, but I throw some frozen peas into it and have this gooey simple childlike meal. I used to cook it for the kids I would babysit and I always enjoyed feeling like a kid and eating it with them."

MORE: Archie Harrison's favourite foods: what the royal toddler loves to eat

Zara Tindall

Champion eventer Zara is so down to earth when it comes to her diet and her suppers sound delicious. Her husband Mike recently shared a photo of their dinner, which was used a meal-making kit from London restaurant Mac & Wild - cheeseburgers served on a rustic wooden board.

The 'Venimoo' burger packs come with all the trimmings, including brioche buns, beef patties, venison patties, cheese slices, salad and condiments.

Zara enjoys tasty meals with husband Mike

Zara has been pictured snacking on pizza and ice creams with her daughter Mia while attending the Gatcombe Horse Trials. A girl after our own hearts!

The Queen

Oh, how we'd love to dine like the monarch for just a day.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously told HELLO! that a red leather-bound book of menus, written in French, would be sent up to the Queen each week, containing a wide variety of recipes.  "We prepared the menus three days ahead so we could get the food in," said Darren.

The Queen's supper tastes are varied and include a combination of meat or fish and vegetables.

MORE: The Queen launches new gin – here's how to serve it

The Queen has a team of royal chefs who prepare her meals

"For a main course, she loved game, things like Gaelic steak, fillet steak with a mushroom whisky sauce, especially if we did it with venison," Darren has revealed.

"For a first course, she loved the Gleneagles pâté, which is smoked salmon, trout and mackerel. She loved using ingredients off the estate and so if we had salmon from Balmoral from the River Dee, she'd have that, it was one of her favourites."

He added: "We used a repertoire of dishes, mainly British and French food. We cooked a lot of traditional French food like halibut on a bed of spinach with a Mornay sauce."

The Duchess of Cornwall

Prince Charles' wife Camilla is a fan of good, hearty, British food.

Former royal chef, Carolyn Robb, told Racked of the Duke and Duchess: "They were always very thrifty and economical. If we made roasted lamb and there were leftovers, we’d probably go and make shepherd’s pie the next night."

Camilla cooked a range of hearty meals for her children

Camilla's son Tom Parker Bowles revealed in The Big Issue that growing up, his mother had cooked suppers such as chicken casseroles, steaks from the local butcher, cottage pie, baked salmon and the weekly roast chicken.

And spicy foods could be off the menu. Aol.com reported that Tom once said: "I like chilli and spice and garlic. And [Charles and Camilla] come from a generation where they don't really like chilli."

Princess Eugenie

The daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson is known for her love of world cuisine. The royal chose a diverse mix of food to be served at her informal wedding reception - and many of the dishes were sentimental.

Princess Eugenie is a fan of different cuisines

According to the Daily Mail, the food stalls included Argentine beef in memory of Eugenie’s grandmother, Susan Barrantes, rice dishes from Nicaragua – where Jack proposed during a romantic holiday – and crepes from Switzerland to represent Verbier, where Eugenie and Jack first met during a skiing holiday.

When it comes to eating out, Eugenie once told Harper's Bazaar: "Two of my favourite restaurants in London are Bocca di Lupo and the Palomar in Soho. For dinner, when I'm being good, I cook my own food. When I'm being really bad, it's Basilico pizza."

Sign up to HELLO Daily! for the best royal, celebrity and lifestyle coverage

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Food

See more