In a reign that spanned over seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II played a significant role in the evolution of the world. While other things came and went, one that remained constant was her love for food. Not only was she fond of eating, but also significantly impacted the food that shows up on the dining table around the world.
It might surprise many people, but Her Majesty was a creature of habit. In his book, McGrady, Queen Elizabeth’s cook for 15 years, shared that she had more straightforward eating habits than most people might expect. This does not mean the palace did not have elegant state dinners, but the Queen did not snack on caviar on a casual day. Perhaps, she enjoyed a simple breakfast and stuck to light lunches and suppers. However, that’s not it. While the Queen stuck to the same meals most days, she had other food and drink indulgences, like poached salmon, delicate tea cookies, scones with jam and cream and the most famous, gin cocktails.
Buckingham Palace Gin
Her Majesty’s love for gin was so strong that she released her brand of gin made in Buckingham Palace and Sandringham House. The ingredients of the gin were sourced from the gardens of each location. She preferred them in a good gin cocktail, a gin martini or a gin and Dubonnet.
Earl Grey Tea
If there was one other drink the Queen loved as much as her gin, it was the Earl Grey Tea, a traditional bergamot-scented black tea she drank with milk and no sugar. In fact, she always started her day with a hot cup of Earl Grey Tea. Her dedication and love for the flavor made it immensely popular, ranking it as the world’s fifth most popular tea flavor. When most people think about royalty, it is the first drink that comes to their mind and without a doubt, being the Queen’s favorite its popularity was enhanced tenfolds.
Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Her Majesty had a sweet tooth that always pushed her to indulge in delicious desserts, especially those made with chocolate. Her favorite was a cake made with egg ganache, tea biscuits and a layer of delicious chocolate. The Queen loved this dessert so much that she would indulge in it every day, and when she would be away, she would have it transported from Buckingham Palace to Windsor. It’s safe to say that Her Majesty was truly loyal to her chocolate.
Crust-less Tea Sandwiches
Did you know that traditional British tea goes back to the 1840s? The Duchess of Bedford started the tradition when she called for a light meal between lunch and dinner. Thus, began the tradition of tea that is popular to date. Queen Elizabeth, too, enjoyed her daily evening tea, and with that, she adhered to a tea time meal which mainly consisted of delicate crust-less sandwiches. There were many versions of the crust-less sandwiches that were enjoyed by the Queen, her favorite being the one with smoked salmon and cream cheese filling. Today, people worldwide recreate Her Majesty’s jam and butter sandwiches as a sign of love towards her.
Game Meats and Wild Caught Fight
‘Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper,’ the Queen took this adage to her heart, eating light meals composed of proteins and vegetables for dinner. She preferred eating wild birds, or other games, often sourced on one of her properties. She sometimes ate salmon and fished from the River Dee at Balmoral Castle. Her Majesty’s preference for game meats extended to more casual meals as she was a big fan of hamburgers.
The Queen was always orderly with her food of choice, preferring to eat many of the same foods daily. However, as we read above, she had her favorites; while it would be a bit of an exaggeration to call her a ‘foodie, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she was loyal to the food she loved.