The Queen’s diet is intriguing, both in its unique mundanity and in its characteristic idiosyncrasies that appear from time to time to remind you that, yes, she is a queen. From her daily routine to her stringent standards to her occasional indulgences, these are the world’s most renowned woman’s habits and manners.
A simple breakfast
When it comes to food, her daily routine isn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary. She wakes up at around 7:30 a.m. and enjoys a pot of Earl Grey (with milk, without sugar) with a few biscuits as she listens to the radio and prepares for a morning bath. Breakfast itself is a little more elaborate — she and Philip usually have a spread of cereal, yogurt and toast with marmalade.
Liz’s cereal of preference is Kellogg’s (particularly, Special K with fruit), which she feeds herself in Tupperware. And if all of that sounds a little too low-key, consider that she frequently eats all of this from a jewel-encrusted marble dish that was worth 500,000 pounds 30 years ago and is now likely worth millions.
Her first drink of the day
The Queen’s daily alcohol selection remains steadfast. She’ll have a gin and Dubonnet with a slice of lemon and ice just before lunch. Dubonnet is a sweet, wine-based aperitif that mixes fortified wine, herbs, and spices, and was HRH the Queen Mother’s favourite drink. The Queen’s recipe calls for two parts Dubonnet and one part gin.
Tanqueray Gordon & Co. is the recipient of a royal warrant for the brand of gin she favours, which means either Gordon’s or Tanqueray – both supermarket brands in the United Kingdom — will be Her Majesty’s gin of choice. If you want to follow suit and start sipping cocktails before lunch, the HuffPost offers a step-by-step recipe.
An even simpler lunch
Lunches for the Queen are usually simple affairs. It is usually served at 1 p.m. and consists of some combination of fish and veggies. A typical lunch, according to her former chef Darren McGrady, might consist of grilled Dover sole on a bed of wilted spinach with courgettes, or something similar.
Naturally, this is a matter of personal choice, and things are very different whether she’s entertaining or travelling. During a royal visit, she would eat fish tian with fennel and apple salad, then rib of lamb with bean cassoulet and lemon sauce, followed by a burnt-orange dessert with poached meringue and blackberry compote. However, it appears that she would like to keep things simple — after all, the unending banquets and full-course meals must wear one down after a while.
A not-so-simple afternoon tea
Afternoon tea has a particular position in British history. It was popularised in the 1840s by Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford (a lifetime companion of Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria), and swiftly became a favourite dinner of the upper social classes. It’s more of a special occasion affair nowadays, although the Queen still sits for it every day.
It consists of cakes such as honey and cream sponge, ginger cake, fruit cake, or chocolate biscuit cake; finger sandwiches (no crusts) with cucumber, smoked salmon, egg mayonnaise, or ham and mustard; and jam pennies, which are miniature raspberry jam sandwiches. These are, of course, served with tea. Everything is also kept small, which makes sense given that she had a huge breakfast.
Dinner with Phil
Dinner at events and when entertaining, like lunch, is generally an incredibly decadent and extravagant occasion — but when it’s just Liz and Phil, that’s rarely the case. The couple will change into more comfortable attire before sitting down to a “relaxed” lunch of meat (lamb, roast beef, mutton, grouse, or salmon, frequently from the Queen’s own estates at Sandringham or Balmoral) with vegetables and an aperitif Martini.
Her final drink of the day
After supper, the Queen will watch Coronation Street or play a game (jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, and Scrabble, puzzle enthusiasts) before completing some more work later in the evening. She’ll also take her final drink of the day at this point: a glass of Champagne. There are eight Champagne brands with the royal warrant, however the Queen is believed to prefer Bollinger, Krug, Lanson, and Pol Roger.
