Inside Royal Family’s lavish Christmas lunch – from touching tributes to surprising menu for picky kids
From magnificent Tudor feasts to Edwardian dinner tables groaning with delicacies, banquets have always been part of royal life. A guest of Queen Victoria’s at Christmas described a “mighty sight”: 50 turkeys being roasted in the kitchen, a huge slab of beef and a woodcock pie of 100 birds.
Today’s menu is slimmed down, but the setting for Christmas lunch is just as majestic. If numbers allow, the royals will eat in Sandringham’s green dining room. “It’s all done so beautifully,” says royal expert Ingrid Seward. “There’s a long mahogany table and the room is decorated with exotic arrangements of flowers and ferns, in Victorian style. The finest crystal is brought up from the glass pantry and the china from the china cellar – as far as Charles is concerned, what’s the point in having all this fancy stuff if it’s not used?”
It’s straight on to the main course – roasted Norfolk turkey with all the trimmings from mashed and roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots to stuffing, roast parsnips and cranberry sauce, cooked to perfection. Former royal head chef, Darren McGrady has fond memories of his time at Sandringham. “The senior chef on duty would carve the turkey in front of the family,” he explains.
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The late Queen would then offer the chef a glass of whisky and they’d toast him, as a thank you for the year gone by. “It’s one of the chef’s favourite traditions.” At 2pm, a flaming Christmas pudding, doused in brandy is carried ceremoniously into the room by a steward.
In the late Queen’s day, the children ate separately in the nursery. “They’ll sit with the adults now, if there’s room,” says former royal butler Grant Harrold, who also hints at a very child-centric approach to royal parenting. “The younger children will be offered exactly what the adults are having, but there will be backup options, such as chicken goujons. And I’ve seen tomato ketchup on a few royal tables!”
They’re quite happy to pass the parsnips. "If the footman isn’t in the room and something needs to be served or a dish passed along, they’ll 100% do it themselves,” says Grant. “A lot of the royals are really hands-on, especially the ladies.” And if someone wants more?! “If you’re family you can ask for seconds – if you’re a guest, then you wait to be offered more. But the King doesn’t like to see food go to waste so it’s likely he’ll insist on seconds being offered.
“The Christmas lunch, which in days gone by also featured a stuffed boar’s head, ox tongue, salmon and game, might be a fairly relaxed occasion, but the royals still follow etiquette rules. The King will speak to the person on his right for the main course and then to the person on his left for the pudding course. This continues down the table. They don’t talk across the table to each other.”
The food marathon continues with chocolate yule log, Christmas cake and mince pies for afternoon tea. Staff in the royal kitchens make different variations of the classic mince pie – one with puff pastry and another topped with flaked almonds brushed with egg whites and icing sugar, “to add a bit of texture,” says former royal pastry chef Kathryn Cuthbertson. Before you can say “Now bring me some figgy pudding”, it’s time for ‘round two’.
“That’s when the royals tuck into the buffet, which is like our version of ‘leftovers’ but with 15-20 different dishes,” says Grant. “They’ll help themselves, but they’ll sit at the table, they won’t eat off plates on their laps like we might!” A cheese course with port, featuring a large round of Stilton sent by Harrods, completes the meal. You’d be forgiven for thinking the royals will be passing the Rennies around by this point, but Ingrid says, “They aren’t as greedy as the rest of us. They don’t eat and drink everything that’s put in front of them because they’re so used to these enormous spreads. So they eat quite sparingly.”
Although perhaps the Prince of Wales is an exception! “I do tend to eat a lot over Christmas,” William once confessed. “There’s always a little bit of space left in my stomach for a bit of turkey or sausage or a bit of wine.” The festive feasting actually kicks off on Christmas Eve when the family gather for afternoon tea. Honey and cream sponge, small scones and dainty sandwiches are on offer, but the real treats are reserved for the formal candlelit banquet later that night.
“It’s a lavish affair with a strict seating plan. Think of Downton Abbey and you’re pretty spot on,” says Grant. Royal author Robert Jobson says it will be left to Queen Camilla to approve the final menu choices, adding, “I think Charles’ tastes are quite plain, so they won’t have anything too fancy.” The six-course dinner typically includes Norfolk shrimps, game from the estate and a soufflé or tarte tatin for pudding (and yes, it’s “pudding”, not “dessert” or “afters”).
In previous years, the late Queen’s favourite cocktail, the ‘Zaza’ was served – one half Dubonnet and one half gin. Now the royals are likely to quaff a few bottles of Queen Camilla’s favourite Bordeaux, from the Pomerol region. Plenty of organic produce will make its way to the table, but not foie gras, which is made from the liver of a duck or goose. It’s banned from all royal residences as the King doesn’t approve of the force-feeding methods used in production.
On Christmas Day morning, there’s a cooked breakfast to enjoy, including black pudding and kippers. Traditionally, the ladies would have the lighter option – sliced fruit, half a grapefruit, toast and coffee – but there’s a good chance that the health-conscious King opts for that these days, as he’s known to prefer fresh fruit and wholemeal bread first thing. “They will most likely have a glass of Bucks Fizz (Champagne with orange juice), too,” adds Grant.
There’s no letting up on Boxing Day either when some of the royals head out into the estate to bag some pheasants. Warmed by a hearty breakfast buffet, including kedgeree (a traditional fish and rice dish made with curry powder), they’ll carry fried slices of leftover Christmas pudding, wrapped in wax paper, to keep energy levels up, says Darren McGrady.
Once it’s a wrap on the morning’s shoot, the party will reconvene for a slap-up lunch of beef bourguignon or venison stew, mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage. “Over the whole three days, they don’t ever have to worry about clearing up,” says Ingrid. “Who wouldn’t accept an invitation to Sandringham for Christmas?!”
