Princess Diana's Royal Chef Says She Would Never Have "Moved Away

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published 30 March 2022

Chef Darren McGrady, who cooked for Princess Diana in her time, thinks that the late royal wouldn't have left the country like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did in 2020.

In an interview with Coffee Friend (opens in new tab), McGrady expressed sadness at the Sussexes' departure. The full interview was shared with Marie Claire via email.

"I think the whole world was surprised, not just me," McGrady said. "It was definitely a shock. It was sad for me being a royalist, having worked for the family for 15 years, having seen the boys play together and how close they were. Princess Diana would have been sad that their boys don’t have the same relationship now."

This argument certainly stands up to scrutiny: The late princess' biographer Andrew Morton previously echoed this sentiment, saying that "she saw Harry as the wingman for William in what ultimately would be a very solitary, somber job as future king."

McGrady continued, "Would she have been thrilled that Harry was moving away from royal service? She understood that the Queen came first, I don’t believe she ever did anything to really offend the Queen.

"She would have never had moved away, that is purely because of her boys. She would never have moved to another country and left her young boys in the U.K. She’d grown up with her parents separated. There’s no way she would have abandoned her children. Would she have had a place in Malibu? I think so, she’d have had a beach house. Yeah absolutely."

But elsewhere, Morton contradicted this view. He recently told Us Weekly that Diana "would be doing cartwheels" about her son being able to build his own life away from the Royal Family.

Similarly, Princess Diana's former voice coach, Stewart Pearce, previously said that the Princess of Wales would have written a memoir just like Prince Harry if she were still alive.

Still, it's worth noting that all this remains speculation—since Princess Diana isn't here to speak for herself.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.