Former royal chef reveals 'really, really tight' state banquet security measures
Being born into royalty is about as good a dice roll as you could hope for. There’s no denying that, for the most prominent family members, there’s a lot of hard graft involved, but remuneration packages scarcely come better than a lifetime of luxury and veneration.
That’s not to say it’s a lifestyle free of friction, with security being a continuous concern for the royals.
It’s one of the top priorities for the state banquet held for French President Emmanuel Macron on 8 July 2025, hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.
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With so many heads of state in one place, it goes without saying that the banquet was a very tightly-run ship. An exhaustive list of checks and approvals is part and parcel of such events, all the way from the guest list down to the equipment available in the kitchens.
Graham Tinsley MBE, who previously worked as a royal chef and manager of the Welsh culinary team, spoke to HELLO! about his experience of being at the heart of similar royal arrangements.
"If we were just cooking for the royal family, we weren't always aware of the security,” he divulged. “It only changed if there were Heads of State coming over, and then the security was really really tight."
He added that satellite kitchens would be set up in the grounds of Welsh castles for events held in Cardiff or Caerphilly, with food then shuttled by foot to the waiting royal diners.
"If we were catering for a Heads of State banquet, however, then all the catering staff would have to meet at a police station and get a motorcycle ride into Cardiff Castle," he explained.
"For higher calibre banquets, we're required to put all our food, containers, knives and kitchen equipment through an X-ray machine whilst motorcycles then drove us into the castle. Some banquets even had code names to protect their security!"
Macron’s meal with the royals kicked off the first of his three-day visit to the UK, with the banquet itself symbolising the enduring and strengthening partnership between the two nations.
King Charles delivered a speech during the banquet, saying: "Monsieur le Président, Madame Macron. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with very great pleasure that my wife and I welcome you to Windsor Castle on the occasion of this State Visit; the first that I have hosted here at Windsor since my Accession.
"I recall with such fond memories our Visit to France in 2023, when you so graciously hosted us, Monsieur le Président. Much has happened in the meantime, and France and the United Kingdom have stood ever closer since then. At this crucial point in our shared histories, your visit is another occasion to celebrate our deep and enduring friendship.
"Indeed, these ties extend beyond friendship into family. The Castle in which we meet this evening was begun by my ancestor - and your sometime countryman - William, Duke of Normandy, in the year 1070. It remains the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. So it is perhaps rather appropriate that my son, The Prince of Wales, who shares that earlier William's name, has made Windsor his home with his family, like so many of our predecessors."
He continued: "The Norman-English society that was established by William the Conqueror was neither, at least initially, an 'entente', nor especially 'cordiale'. But it marked, on one view, the beginning of a thousand years of shared history and culture between our two peoples, which has enriched our two societies beyond measure.”
Rachael Davis