Crispy fish and chips, sweet Victoria sponge,
and a hefty helping of… leftovers? Think she's too posh for day-old beans? Skinny Lizzies,
bugger off! This royal's not messing around with mealtime.
Reportedly, Camilla, Queen Consort,
loves starting the day with a hearty, protein-rich breakfast. And eggs are the reigning dish of
choice. But they're more than just a favorite food — they're a passion. A source told The Sun,
"Charles is the all-time chicken lover, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of most
breeds and knows how to rear them. 'Cluckingham Palace' is what his house is sometimes called."
The royal couple keeps a flock of English Orpington chickens at their
Gloucestershire residence, where they have their pick of an unlimited supply of rich,
brown eggs. Camilla's favorite preparation is "cheesy baked eggs," according to Hello. And
it's such a crowd-pleaser, she revealed the recipe via the official Clarence House Instagram page.
But there's a reason that the king and queen consort always enjoy a
hearty breakfast. According to former royal correspondent Gordon Rayner,
the pair has a habit of skipping lunch. As Rayner recalled for The Telegraph,
"Lunch is seen as a luxury that gets in the way of [Charles'] work,
so he eats a late breakfast and works through."
In 2019, Camilla railed against toxic diet culture, telling The Daily Mail,
"It is this ridiculous dieting, cutting out dairy and all the things that are good for
your bones. These girls see 'Skinny Lizzies' in a magazine and they all want to be thin."
But while the queen consort passes on fads, she still prefers a healthy,
balanced, and organic diet. Nutrition expert Sarah Campus noted to Express,
"Camilla particularly enjoys eating hearty meals using fresh produce,
a lot actually which is produced on their estate. Camilla's complexion is glowing and a lot of
this is likely down to what she consumes being so organic, colorful, and varied."
Campus also speculated that Camilla may take a collagen supplement to maintain her radiant skin.
The royal residences famously feature lush
gardens and flowers of all colors. And you'll also find bountiful vegetable plots. King Charles and
Camilla are advocates for sustainable agriculture, and their 21,000-acre Sandringham Estate was
transformed into a fully organic farm under the guidance of King Charles himself. As Hello noted,
the couple grow enough fresh produce to keep their kitchen fully stocked throughout the year.
In 2021, the queen consort took "Gardeners' World" on a tour of her vegetable patch in
Highgrove, which was teeming with leafy greens, asparagus and strawberries.
"You could go into a garden and you could completely lose
yourself. You don't have to think about it because you're surrounded by nature."
Then, in 2022, Camilla told You Magazine that she adores cooking
with fresh ingredients and seasonal produce like kale, broccoli, carrots, and courgettes.
It's not unusual to see the royal couple
meeting with local cheese makers or poking around the table at a royal cheese tasting. After all,
Charles is the patron of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association. But for Camilla,
there's an even more practical reason why dairy is part of her daily diet. As nutritionist Daniel
Herman told Express, Dairy is high in calcium and vitamin D; vital nutrients for healthy aging.
But there's a much more personal concern for the queen consort. Camilla's mother
died in 1994 due to osteoporosis, which causes the bones to become weak and
fracture easily. Camilla reflected on her mother's condition, writing,
"I believe that the quality of her life became so dismal,
and her suffering so unbearable, that she just gave up the fight and lost the will to live."
Camilla now serves as president of the Royal Osteoporosis Society,
where she educates the public about preventing this devastating disease.
"Together, we will be able to bring an end to this 'silent'
disease that has brought such misery and pain."
Camilla has dutifully
dished on all of her favorite treats. According to You Magazine, one of her favorite snacks is
Heinz baked beans on toast. And of course nothing compares to the iconic fish and chips. She added,
"That smell. You cannot beat proper fish and chips."
In November 2022, the queen consort spent an afternoon with children at Bow Nursery
in London. She was there to gift dozens of Paddington Bear plushies that had been left by
mourners at Buckingham Palace after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. While she was there,
Camilla enjoyed a marmalade sandwich, a snack that also happens to be Paddington's favorite, too.
There's quite a bit of fanfare
around the royal family's food preferences. Between
the seven-year-old fruit cake they've eaten at a christening,
to their penchant for lamprey pie, the royals have certainly offered us a lot to buzz about.
But Camilla and Charles have an interesting culinary habit of their own: eating foraged
mushrooms. As former royal chef Darren McGrady wrote in his book "Eating Royally,"
"Balmoral is an absolute treasure trove of wild mushrooms."
It's also home to salmon. In his book,
McGrady dished about the hours Charles spent pursuing his passion for fishing, writing,
"The salmon was so fresh its eyes seemed to follow you around the room."
"Our national food and produce is something to shout about,
which makes me — and I'm sure all of you — very proud."
While they have a staff to cater to their every craving,
thanks to her rural upbringing, Camilla is in fact a skilled hunter and fisher herself.
With every resource at their disposal,
it's hard to imagine that sovereigns put a lot of thought into how much waste they produce. But
for Camilla and Charles, environmentalism is a virtue. With guiding practices like
composting and organic farming, the royals embrace sustainability on a personal level.
Charles' former private secretary,
Clive Alderton, revealed in the book ​​"Charles: The Heart of a King,"
"I've rarely met someone who is so frugal,
not in the sense of meanness but an absolute allergy to waste."
"My old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years,
that runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine."
Apparently that means it's also common for the royal couple to keep leftovers, rather than
throw them away. According to former royal chef Carolyn Robb,
back when Charles was married to Diana, the pair often transformed
yesterday's meals into completely new dishes. Robb explained to Racked,
"If we made roasted lamb and there were leftovers,
we'd probably go and make shepherd's pie the next night."
"My passions are gardening, the countryside and obviously dogs and horses."
As a skilled gardener and superfood enthusiast, it's no surprise that Camilla's favorite snack
is a healthy and decidedly British one: peas. She explained at an event,
"I tell you what I really like — eating peas straight from the garden. If you
take them straight from the pod they are delicious and really sweet. […] I take all
my grandchildren down to the garden and they spend hours and hours eating peas."
With such a passion for healthy living,
Camilla certainly influences her grandchildren's healthy choices. But even so, they're forging
their own culinary tastes — including one that Camilla is less than excited about.
"My grandchildren are rather addicted to ketchup."
Camilla's earliest
and fondest memories were formed around food. As she recalled to You Magazine,
"I grew up in a very happy home, with good food at its heart."
When Camilla started her own family, her mother's recipes became a way to pass those
memories on to her children. Although she's now one of England's highest ranking figures,
Camilla told the outlet that she still cooks at home. So it makes perfect sense that she
has an array of cooking essentials on hand whenever she needs them.
Notably, it appears there are a few things that Camilla can't live without. When she stopped
by "MasterChef Australia," the sovereign revealed that olive oil is a staple in her
home. She also shared that fresh tomatoes or tomato purée are never in short supply.
But there are also a few items that you'll never find in the queen consort's pantry.
Camilla told You Magazine that she steers clear of chili and garlic.
And her royal highness has very strong feelings about peppers. She admitted,
"I can't bear peppers, raw or cooked."
Camilla packs a variety of foods into her daily
diet, so it's no surprise that animal protein is featured prominently on her dinner plate.
The sovereign told You Magazine that she enjoys cooking pork and lamb chops, roast chicken, and
chicken casserole. But her royal highness admitted that she's not exactly a superstar chef, adding,
"I could fill a book with all my cooking disasters."
Nutrition expert Nataly Komova believes that meats, as part of a well-balanced diet,
are the secret to Camilla's radiant, energetic glow. Komova speculated for
Express that the queen consort regularly enjoys staples like roast chicken, lamb,
and salmon. When sourcing her protein, Camilla focuses on variety and prioritizes healthy
fats. And as nutrition coach Sarah Campus noted, avocados, different types of fish,
and nuts like almonds are also likely on heavy rotation for the protein-loving royal.
Meats and other protein-rich foods provide Camilla with the energy that she needs for
her favorite activities, like horse riding, exploring nature and gardening, as well as
dancing. There's also that small matter of running the British Empire. Camilla's
meals are nutritionist-approved, with Komova telling Express,
"It is best to adopt Camilla's lifestyle, which includes staying active."
If you want to dine like a queen,
you simply cannot live without a litany of decadent desserts. The late Queen Elizabeth
knew that well, and her love of cake is legendary. There have been many royal
engagements that featured Elizabeth smiling as she cut into a towering confection. And according to
her former chef, she would even travel with her favorite of all: chocolate biscuit cake.
Keeping in line with her mother-in-law's tastes, Camilla also has a sizable sweet
tooth — and she's not shy about indulging it. According to The Takeout, the Victoria sponge
cake is Camilla's favorite. But the sovereign puts a twist on the traditional recipe. Instead
of the usual filling of berries or jam, the queen consort prefers Nutella or lemon curd.
"I have become a little bit of an addict."
Like all queens, Camilla gets to have her pick of dazzling desserts. When You Magazine
asked about her go-to indulgences, Camilla said she typically goes for…
"Some bitter chocolate ice cream. Plus
strawberries and raspberries and lots of clotted cream."