bitchy | The Windsors’ Christmas lunch is heavy on roast vegetables & turkey

Did you guys see Spencer, the Pablo Larrain film with Kristen Stewart playing Princess Diana? It wasn’t a great film by any means, but the whole thing takes place during the Windsors’ Christmas at Sandringham. Within the story, there are several real pieces of information: the strict Christmas lunch/dinner, weighing guests upon their arrival, the weirdness of the Sandringham estate. The scene where all of the food is brought in to be prepared by the kitchen staff is amazing. Anyway, I thought of that as I read this interesting piece about what the Windsors actually eat on Christmas Day in Sandringham. For Americans, it just sounds like a Thanksgiving meal (minus the pecan pie).

King Charles’ Christmas lunch meal has been revealed — and even his former chef isn’t impressed by what’s on the menu. Darren McGrady, 61, a Nottinghamshire chef who once cooked for members of the monarchy, opened up about the royal family’s holiday tradition in a new interview. The firm tends to celebrate at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, each year.

“It was the same meal every year. They’re actually boring when it comes to festivities. They didn’t do hams or anything, just traditional turkeys,” he recently told OK magazine.

He continued: “We did three turkeys for the queen and her family in the royal dining room, one for the children’s nursery and then more for the 100 or so staff, so everyone had a Christmas lunch.”

McGrady has also reportedly cooked for Princess Diana. Since Queen Elizabeth II’s death at age 96 on Sept. 8, 2022, the chef expects that the king will stick to what he had last year. Most likely, his main course will be accompanied by mashed and roast potatoes, onion stuffing, brussel sprouts, carrots, roast parsnips and two sauces of either cranberry or bread.

Charles and his loved ones — Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton and the Cambridges’ children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, will have to make room for dessert though. Later in the evening, they will most likely feast on pudding, which tends to be brought into the dining room by the palace steward – hot and “flaming.”

The royal family’s big day actually kicks off with a personal breakfast before heading over to St. Mary Magdalene Church for an 11 a.m. service. After lunch and a supper filled with roasted hams and boar’s head, they all gather to watch the monarch’s Christmas message on television.

[From The NY Post]

So, wait, are they doing hams or not? The chef says it’s just about turkey, but then the Post says hams and boar’s head? I mean, it would make sense for such a large party to have two kinds of meat, surely, and I would imagine it would be turkey plus ham, or maybe a beef wellington or some kind of roast. As for all of the veggies… that sounds lovely. I could see how it could get boring for the chefs though, to cook the exact same things the exact same way, year after year. When QEII was alive, she reportedly wanted all of the food served very mild, without much or any spice. I wonder if Charles has changed that? He seems to have an even more delicate stomach than his mother, so probably not.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.