Royal Family's strange Christmas rules - bizarre rituals to separate meals
Dozens of turkeys, hams, cakes, cheeses, mince pies, vintage champagne and fine wines – no corners are cut when the shopping list for the royal Christmas get-together is compiled. Queen Elizabeth II’s former chef Darren McGrady catered for Christmas at Sandringham frequently in the 80s and 90s. Speaking to OK! about his time running the kitchen, he reveals.
“They’ve always been very traditional, so the royals eat the same things every year. They’re no different to most families in not wanting to mess around with the food at Christmas.” The festive feasting has always begun on Christmas Eve, with the family arriving at Sandringham in time for an afternoon tea of dainty sandwiches and cake.
After the customary exchange of presents, the evening revolves around a formal banquet in the dining room. Assisted by five other chefs, Darren would cater for up to 20 of the senior royals, as well as the children and about 100 staff members.
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“For the Christmas Eve dinner we’d serve a fish course, salad and then often venison from the Sandringham estate,” he tells us. “Dessert was typically a tarte tatin or chocolate perfection pie, which Queen Elizabeth loved. Chocolate was one of her biggest weaknesses.”
The drinks offering is a carefully planned ritual, too. “They would always start with gin and Dubonnet in the early evening, and then the Yeoman of the Royal Cellar would serve champagnes and fine wines at dinner.”
During mealtimes, a series of rules are rigorously observed. Darren recalls, “No one sat down until the Queen came in, and nobody began eating until she did. As soon as she put her knife and fork down, that course was over and we’d start clearing away. Dinner service is run to military precision.”
He believes certain regulations are likely to remain in place now King Charles is at the head of the table.
“I’ve done state banquets for many US presidents – including Reagan and Clinton – and the same rules apply,” he explains. “Although we may now have a more modern King, I think things will still be formal and Charles will keep a lot of the customs going.”
After dinner on Christmas Eve, Darren had another important role. “As soon as I’d served the coffee, I’d rush upstairs and change because I was resident DJ for the staff disco, and I’d spin the decks from 10pm until 1am. One year, Princess Diana turned up with Princess Margaret’s daughter Sarah Armstrong-Jones!”
Of course, Christmas Day is the main event, and for the royals it tends to begin with a cooked breakfast for the men, with the women eating continental breakfasts in their bedrooms while getting ready for the day ahead.
Revealing some of the family quirks, Darren says, “The Queen Mother would insist on bringing her own china, and Charles always liked to have a pair of freshly poached plums from Highgrove, served in a little finger bowl. He’d also have a box of assorted muesli, dried fruits and honey.”
The family are seated for Christmas lunch at 1.15pm sharp, with local Norfolk-reared turkey the star attraction. “They’d always have roast turkey and chestnut stuffing, with mashed and roast potatoes, plus lots of vegetables like parsnips and carrots.”
Certain ingredients were off-limits. “We never used garlic when cooking for the Queen – it was considered antisocial,” says Darren. “We had to avoid strong onions too, because the monarch doesn’t want to be breathing that on people.”
In all, six turkeys would be prepped and cooked. “Two for the royal dining room, one for the nursery and three more for the staff dining room,” says Darren. It was non-stop for us in the kitchen from 6am until around 2.30pm, when the chefs sat down and ate lunch. We’d finish just in time to watch the Queen’s speech.”
Darren was not a fan of seeing the royal children – then comprising Zara and Peter Phillips, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Princes William and Harry – eating in the nursery without their parents.
He says, “It’s just royal tradition, and what they did whenever the Queen was present. But in later years I think that’s why William and Kate chose to eat Christmas lunch at Anmer Hall, because they didn’t want to be separated from their children.”
While many of the traditions are likely to be the same today, Charles may be even stricter on the sourcing of produce than in previous years.
“The King will definitely insist on organic food,” Darren says. “He’ll also want local, indigenous produce which is in season rather than shipped in. So there will be no strawberries on the menu on Christmas Day.”
Though today’s royals are likely to have individual dietary requirements, that was not the case for Darren and his team. “In those days, nobody wanted gluten-free, dairy-free, or lactose-free.
"The attitude was that you were dining with the Queen, so you had whatever was on your plate. If you didn’t like it, you didn’t eat. It was as simple as that.”
Most festive feasts end with a flaming Christmas pudding, and the royals typically enjoy their own bespoke variety.
“The puddings were made in London before we went up to Sandringham, which meant we were well ahead of the game,” says Darren. “Because everything was always so organised, it was never a stressful experience.”
After all the eating, the royals like to walk around the estate in order to sharpen the appetite for afternoon tea – which includes sandwiches, mince pies and plenty of naughty treats. “The whole family used to devour our chocolate Yule log, and we’d make three Christmas cakes too,” reveals Darren.
As if that weren’t enough, an evening spread of cold meats, chutneys, cheeses and biscuits is served, too. “Harrods were the royal purveyors then, and they’d send a huge hamper containing things like foie gras en croute and beautiful whole stiltons for the Christmas night buffet,” says Darren. “There was certainly never a shortage of good things to eat.”
