Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Lived-in Handbags
    • Eyepatch-Gate
    • Life in Plastic
    • Brown Denim
    • Taylor Swift
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    The Queen's Former Personal Chef, Darren McGrady, Ran into Prince Harry's Ex on a Plane This Week

    Darren McGrady, Queen Elizabeth's former personal chef, tweeted about bumping into Chelsy Davy on a plane this week. He included a photo of Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend to document the encounter.

    By Kayleigh Roberts
    Published 27 January 2019 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Chef, Uniform, Event, Photography,
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    You know that whole, "Wow, it's such a small world" feeling you get when you're just out and about, living your life and you run into someone very random from your past? Well, get ready for a very random royal-adjacent version of that feeling.

    But first, a little about the players in our tale. First off, there's Darren McGrady, Queen Elizabeth II's former personal chef. As the Queen's personal chef, McGrady also regularly fed other ranking members of the royal family, including the late Princess Diana and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry—although he did reveal in an interview with MarieClaire.com that the young princes preferred McDonald's to his gourmet cooking.

    "I remember the Princess [Diana] came into the kitchen one day and said, 'Cancel lunch for the boys I'm taking them out, we're going to McDonald's. And I said, 'Oh my god your royal highness, I can do that, I can do burgers,'" he recalled. "And she said, 'No, it's the toy they want.' Yeah, the boys loved McDonald's, and going out to pizza, and having potato skins—sort of the American foods. They were royal princes but had children's palates."

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    McGrady's connection to Prince Harry is particularly important when we get to the other character in the story: Chelsy Davy, Harry's long-time, on- and off-again girlfriend.

    People, Military uniform, Uniform, Army, Soldier, Military, Headgear, Cap,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Apparently, during a flight earlier this week, McGrady was casually discussing his royal former employer when he realized that Davy was actually sitting directly behind him. He recounted the story in a tweet:

    You may like
    • Queen Elizabeth wearing a purple suit smiling at Prince William Queen Elizabeth Would "Press a Button" to Get Prince William One Treat
    • Queen Elizabeth shaking hands with two chefs Former Chef Reveals One Innocent Trick Staff Would Play on Queen Elizabeth
    • Princess Anne wears an olive green military uniform and stands with brother King Charles, who wears a navy naval uniform Royal Chef Reveals Princess Anne's "Overripe" Request

    "When the lady sitting next to you on the plane asks who you used to cook for... and then you realize @ChelsyDavy is sat behind you."

    He shared a photo of Davy as proof of the coincidence:

    Hair, Hairstyle, Blond, Interaction, Photography, Long hair,

    (Image credit: Twitter)

    McGrady's account of the story ends there, but we can only imagine Davy overhearing the conversation and jumping in with a friendly, "Hey, I think you used to cook for my boyfriend's grandma."

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    When the lady sitting next to you on the plane asks who you used to cook for... and then you realize @ChelsyDavy is sat behind you 😳 pic.twitter.com/3qtv4goD4rJanuary 22, 2019

    Of course, it's also possible that Davy's response was to hide her face and pretend to be asleep for the entire flight just to avoid any attention that two royally-connected people would bring. She did, after all, famously call off her relationship with Prince Harry because she didn't like the attention that came with being around royalty.

    RELATED STORIES

    Hair, Blond, Hairstyle, Brown hair, Long hair, Dress, Little black dress, Cocktail dress, Smile,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Prince Harry's Exes Spotted Post-Engagement News

    Soldier, Military uniform, Military person, Dress shirt, Collar, Cap, Forehead, Military organization, Military, Uniform,

    (Image credit: Archives)

    Prince Harry's Ex-Girlfriend "Couldn't Cope" with Dating a Royal

    Explore More
    Diana Prince Harry Queen Elizabeth II
    Kayleigh Roberts
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

    Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

    Read more
    Queen Elizabeth shaking hands with two chefs
    Royals Former Chef Reveals One Innocent Trick Staff Would Play on Queen Elizabeth
    By Kristin Contino
    Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has red hair and a short beard and wears a suit and tie and attends the Kyiv Security Forum, in Kyiv on April 23, 2026
    Royals Prince Harry "Used to Try and Escape" and "Disappear"
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Prince Harry smiling in front of a step and repeat
    Royals Royal Fans Hope Prince Harry "Reunites With" One Relative
    By Amy Mackelden
    King Charles wears a red military uniform and looks concerned while standing on Buckingham Palace balcony with Queen Elizabeth II, who wears a baby blue outfit
    Royals Queen Elizabeth's Employee Revealed "Intimate Details"
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    King Charles has gray hair and looks shocked while wearing a gray suit with a white shirt and a blue checked tie
    Royals Why King Charles "Would Agree With" Sandringham Theft
    Princess Kate wears a navy blue satin dress as she announces her engagement to Prince William, who wears a suit
    Royals Princess Kate "Had a Very Handsome Boyfriend" Before William
     
     
    Prince Harry wears a suit with a baby blue tie and white shirt and has red
    Royals Prince Harry Says Archie and Lilibet "Are Happy" in the U.K.
    A black and white photo of Princess Diana in a long white dress and tiara with a footman saluting her
    Royals Princess Diana Changed Her Style After Queen Elizabeth "Told Her Off"
     
     
    Latest in News
    King Charles has gray hair and looks shocked while wearing a gray suit with a white shirt and a blue checked tie
    Royals Why King Charles "Would Agree With" Sandringham Theft
    Princess Kate wears a navy blue satin dress as she announces her engagement to Prince William, who wears a suit
    Royals Princess Kate "Had a Very Handsome Boyfriend" Before William
     
     
    Jennifer Lopez at Milan Fashion Week wearing a black velvet suit and flat cap
    Celebrity Style J.Lo Swaps Her Skintight Bodysuit for a Menswear Suit
    Prince Harry wears a suit with a baby blue tie and white shirt and has red
    Royals Prince Harry Says Archie and Lilibet "Are Happy" in the U.K.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.