Former Royal Chef Says Queen Elizabeth "Never" Ate This Food Beloved By Prince William and Princess Kate

The late Queen stuck with classic French and British meals.

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Queen Elizabeth in a red coat and hat stirring tea at a table
(Image credit: Getty Images)

For Princess Diana, it was important to give her kids "normal" experiences growing up, so instead of just eating elaborate palace dinners, Prince Harry and Prince William developed a taste for foods like burgers and pizza, too. However, former royal chef Darren McGrady says that Queen Elizabeth didn't share in her grandkids' tastes.

In a 2020 interview with Us Weekly, McGrady, who worked at Buckingham Palace before becoming a chef to Diana and her boys, said that Queen Elizabeth "never had pizza."

"I didn't start cooking pizza until I moved across to Kensington Palace," he added, sharing that he made the dish "all the time for William." The royal chef even invented a special pizza recipe just for the future King.

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"In my second cookbook, The Royal Chef at Home, there's a chicken tikka masala pizza because he loves Indian food," McGrady said. "The pizza combined the two."

Queen Elizabeth wearing a lavender polka dot dress and white hate smiling at a dinner table

Queen Elizabeth preferred to eat British classics or French food.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William opening a pizza box surrounded by men sitting at tables

Prince William is pictured bringing pizza to the Central Brecon Mountain Rescue team in Wales during a 2023 visit.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William and Princess Kate holding pizza boxes leaving a food truck

The Prince and Princess of Wales, pictured in 2023, are big fans of pizza.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Today, home chef Princess Kate loves to make pizza at home with her kids George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, 7.

"I really enjoy making pizza dough with George and Charlotte because they like getting their hands messy," she said during a 2018 royal engagement at a community center. In 2023, William and Kate even picked up pizza from a local food truck themselves when they treated members of a Welsh mountain rescue team to a treat.

As for what Queen Elizabeth did like to eat, McGrady says that she stuck to tried-and-true British classics and French fare. "The Queen never was a foodie," he said on his YouTube channel, noting that her favorite food was a sandwich called a jam penny.

In fact, the late Queen ate it every day of her life since she was five, with the simple meal containing bread topped with strawberry jam and butter. "We’d make the jam at Balmoral Castle with gorgeous Scottish strawberries from the gardens," McGrady added.

Kristin Contino
Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.