Queen Elizabeth had iconic way of getting guests to talk
Queen Elizabeth II reportedly had a foolproof way of getting salacious gossip out of her dinner guests during royal occasions, a former household butler has revealed.
The late monarch, who ruled Britain for 70 years between February 1952 and September 2022, allegedly had some eating habits, including refusing to fly abroad without quince jelly made by Lady Tollemache at Helmingham Hall.
She also apparently never requested pizza from the palace kitchens and had a penchant for smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches.
And despite enjoying gin, having released her own bottles made from ingredients from her gardens at Buckingham Palace and Sandringham House, she apparently didn’t drink it often, claimed Julius Smith, a former royal butler and founder of Regal Afternoon Tea.
Queen Elizabeth’s table habits
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In a recent interview, Smith dismissed claims that the late monarch would partake in regular pre-lunch glasses of gin and Dubonnet, a sweet, aromatised wine-based quinquina often drunk as an aperitif.
“She certainly wouldn’t be drinking and things like that as part of the routine,” the expert confided in the Daily Mail.
However, that is not to say that royal luncheons were ever ‘boring’.
Smith said that while snacking and supping, the Queen had a way of getting people to talk, both to one another and herself.
“She used to love to gossip,” he said, alleging that she would make sure everyone’s wine glasses were full to the brim, even if they didn’t want more.
“She would say to pour it in through their fingers,” the former royal butler added.
‘Worst thing’ you can do in front of royals
Smith has previously stated that if you ever find yourself having tea with the royals, then you should be aware that taking the last biscuit without offering it out is a big ‘no-no’.
Another act that the royal household tends to ‘frown upon’ is their guests taking images of their food before tucking in.
While the royals aren’t fans, previous studies have suggested that snapping an image of your dish may improve its taste and gratification.
Saying Grace and savouring items can produce the same kind of feeling, as per a paper published in Psychological Science.
King Charles III’s major dislikes
King Charles III’s step-son, Tom Parker Bowles, wrote in his 2024 book, Cooking And The Crown: Royal recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III, that the ruling monarch does not enjoy food being wasted.
According to the 53-year-old, leftovers are a staple in the royal kitchen as ‘nothing is allowed to be thrown out’
"There is no waste, everything is recycled, everything is used from the table. If anything is left over from the dinner, that will be made into something else or appear the next day,” he wrote, as per The Mirror.
Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams has also said something similar in the past, calling the king a ‘huge fan of recycling and upcycling’.
“He has a strict no-waste policy. If things can be used again, they will,” he said.
Charles apparently isn’t ‘a great lover of chocolate’, while his wife, Queen Camilla, ‘loves’ the stuff, Darren McGrady said.
The culinary expert, who was a personal chef to the late Queen, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her sons William, Prince of Wales, and Harry, Duke of Sussex, claimed: “Anything with chocolate on the menu, Camilla will love.”
The comments were made ahead of Charles and Camilla’s state visit to America, where First Lady Melania Trump served a beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with smooth vanilla bean crémeux custard for dessert.
Experts have previously confirmed that lamb, in-season vegetables, and local produce are some of Charles’ favourite items.
How King Charles likes his tea to be made
Evan Samson, hospitality manager of Dumfries House, previously told British Heritage Travel that the king enjoys green tea, Earl Grey and English breakfast teas.
“The butlers are expected to make and serve the tea in quite a particular way,” he stated.
“The key is to use loose tea and a teapot - one teaspoon of tea leaves per teacup plus an extra one for the pot.
“The water must be heated to 70C for green tea and 100C for Earl Grey or English breakfast tea,” he said, adding that the temperature of the water ‘must be measured with a thermometer’.
Ella Scott