Take a quick look around you and you’ll notice that everyone around you has some set of peculiar tastes and eating habits which you just don’t understand. At home, we are free to eat what we like and the way we like (or at least that’s what we’d like to believe) and no one is there to judge us. We are in the comfort of our loved ones and we needn’t worry about etiquettes that much. For a common man like you and me, this is the scenario. Have you ever wondered what the situation would be like if you were born in a royal family? While the concept of kings and queens is no longer prevalent in most parts of the world and democracy has been accepted in a lot of countries, the Great Britain continues to honour the Queen and her family as royalty.
The longest serving monarch in British history has made headlines time and again for her decisions and actions in the past. In fact, the truth is that while she is still the head of the state for United Kingdom, she doesn’t hold any real power in the government and administration which are under the rule of the Prime Minister. Despite that, the royal family is given a lot of importance in society. With royalty, comes a lot of responsibility. Since the members of the royal family is always in public eye and observed for every little action they undertake, there are certain guidelines followed by them regarding eating habits too, along with their own choice of food.
For instance, you would never find shellfish on the royal menu. That’s true. The reason behind this is that shellfish can lead to a risk of food poisoning. Due to this, the members of the royal family are asked to abstain from eating any kind of seafood, especially when on public duty. The irony here is that while the Queen follows this to the core, Prince Williams and Prince Charles seem to love their sushi and shellfish respectively, a lot more than the guidelines.
He might indulge in seafood now and then but Prince Charles knows how to start his day right. It is said that he loves to have eggs for his first meal of the day. The breakfast of this royal prince comprises of Cheesy baked eggs along with a cup of tea. Filled with spinach, tomatoes and other veggies, these eggs provide a range of nutrition, from protein to Vitamin B12. Well, as for the tea, he likes to sweeten the loose tea leaves with organic honey.
Meanwhile, the Queen likes to enjoy a light meal before breakfast known as pre-breakfast. This usually comprises of a cup of Earl Grey Tea sans milk and sugar. Biscuits might accompany on the side. After this, she likes to have a breakfast of toast, marmalade, yoghurt for the main meal.
For someone like North Indians, a meal would seem incomplete without the use of garlic and onions but that’s the way of eating for some others like Jains. Along similar lines but for different reasons, the British royalty also avoids these two ingredients as much as possible. The strong odour of onion and garlic could be one of the reasons, especially on royal dinners and official engagements, where the foul smell could be treated as sigh of lack of etiquette.
Since these people are under public scrutiny, they have to maintain a certain image and appearance. Prince William is well-known for his fit and active looks. However, here’s a little secret. He doesn’t mind indulging in some popcorn once in a while. The Queen is said to enjoy dark chocolate and we don’t think it’s a bad idea at all. It is known to be good for improving cognitive function along with regulating blood pressure.
The consideration for fitness runs in the family since the Queen prefers meat and vegetables over carb-rich foods like pastas and sandwiches. In fact, one of the guideline also mentions how sandwiches with crusts should be avoid. Another royal member, Duchess of Cambridge goes large on raw foods and freshly plucked kale, berries and matcha for her diet. The not-so newly-made royal couple of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel are also very cautious about their health because the latter follows a vegan diet while the former has switched to a healthy lifestyle of greens and fresh produce since the duo got married.
So would you want to inculcate some of these eating habits and diet preferences into your regime?