Come hungry!
We may not all be royal, but we can eat like we are—and, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, this is exactly what the royal family eats on Christmas Day ., McGrady—who has worked for Her late Majesty and Princess Diana and who prepared seven royal Christmas meals—calls Christmas Day with the royal family at Sandringham a “modern-day Downton Abbey.” The day kicks off with a full English breakfast before the family heads off to church at St.
“The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table,” he says. “So, for the Queen, there was never a case of putting a highchair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food. It was Victorian. The children’s place was in the nursery and [a] nanny would take care of them.”
“Not long after, they’d go in for afternoon tea,” McGrady says. “It was always the chocolate Yule log, which was a twist on the chocolate birthday cake, scones, mince pies, different types of sandwiches, and the Christmas cake. We’d make one big Christmas cake for the Queen and the royal family and then another smaller one for the nursery for Prince William, Prince Harry, Zara [Phillips], Peter [Phillips], Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie.