As a royal editor, one of the things that always surprises me is the world’s continual fascination with what the Royal Family loves to eat. From Queen Elizabeth’s two-ingredient lunch that helped her stay young to Harry and William’s McDonald’s trips, the appetite (pardon my pun) for royal food stories is insatiable. One thing many royal fans don’t realize, however, is that Princess Diana ate a largely vegetarian diet.
Former palace chef Darren McGrady often posts royal recipes on his YouTube channel, and in one video, he shared that one of Diana’s “favorite dishes” was stuffed bell peppers. “She probably had it two or three times a week,” McGrady said.
McGrady cooked for Diana for the four years prior to her 1997 death, and said that “healthy” options were at the core of her eating habits. Per McGrady, she told him, “Darren, you take care of all the fats, I’ll take care of the carbs at the gym.”
Diana, seen during a 1989 visit to the United Arab Emirates with Prince Charles, preferred to eat light and healthy.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The late royal ate a mostly vegetarian diet mixed in with fish and chicken.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“Stuffed eggplant” and “rainbow trout” were other favorites, per McGrady, and he shared that Diana would often come and hang out in the kitchen and watch him cook.
Because of her focus on light, nutritious eating, McGrady said his “cooking changed” accordingly, explaining he didn’t use any “heavy creams and rich sauces” like he did when working for Queen Elizabeth. The chef also shared that Diana “didn’t eat beef at all.”
However, while speaking to Hello! magazine, McGrady said that Prince Harry and Prince William would eat beef, even if their mother didn’t. “She was into healthy eating, so we never had beef on the menu, unless the boys were home,” he explained.
One food that wasn’t on the menu full-stop, though, was pork. “She never ate pork,” McGrady told the outlet. “Occasionally she’d have lamb when she was entertaining guests but for the most part it was chicken, fish or vegetarian options.”
