Although Princess Diana could’ve requested any meal in the world at Kensington Palace, she tended to favor clean, fresh dishes like stuffed peppers, salmon and overnight oats. Although she was in favor of healthy eating, the late royal reserved Saturday nights for pizza and burgers around the TV with Prince Harry and Prince William—and she also “loved” one other comfort food.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for Diana at Kensington Palace, tells Heart Bingo that the late royal enjoyed a jacket potato, or baked potato, with some hearty fillings. “I know Princess Diana loved them,” he says. “For all the lavish food she had access to, one of her favorite ways to eat a jacket potato was with baked beans and cheese! She loved that.”
As for Prince William and Prince Harry, McGrady says they “preferred a wedge” potato instead. “They loved crispy wedges with fried chicken or beef,” the former palace chef adds.
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Princess Diana tries a piece of cake in 1991.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Prince Charles and Princess Diana attend a BBQ in Canada on a 1983 royal tour.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“Looking back, we were incredibly spoiled,” McGrady says of his kitchen setup at Kensington Palace and, prior to that, Buckingham Palace. “The butcher would arrive with the finest cuts of meat imaginable for the royal table. If we ordered pears and needed 24, the greengrocer would bring 100, so we could hand-pick the very best ones.”
“We had a royal menu which would see us plan food three days in advance for the Queen, so we could get fresh produce,” he adds.
Despite being able to cook from the finest ingredients around, William and Harry were just like any normal little boys. “When she was entertaining, especially if she had the boys home, William and Harry, I had to change the menu to make it nursery friendly so that the boys would like it—comfort food that they would like but a dish to two that she would like too,”McGrady said of Diana on his YouTube channel (via Hello!).