Princess Diana\u2019s former chef Darren McGrady revealed on his YouTube channel exactly what he\u2019d make the Princess of Wales for lunch\u2014a meal she often shared with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry when they were boys.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
McGrady worked for the Royal Household beginning in the 1980s, and worked specifically for the Princess of Wales from 1993 until her death in 1997.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The lunch menu would alter based on who was there, like if the trio had a friend come to visit Kensington Palace for the meal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Princess Diana<\/a>\u2019s former chef Darren McGrady has revealed on his YouTube channel (and via Hello!<\/a>) exactly what he would make for the Princess of Wales for lunch, noting that it was often a meal she\u2019d share with her sons Prince William<\/a> and Prince Harry<\/a> when they were boys.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen she was entertaining, especially if she had the boys home, William and Harry, I had to change the menu to make it nursery-friendly so that the boys would like it\u2014comfort food that they would like but a dish or two that she would like, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Princess Diana, Prince Harry, and Prince William<\/p>\n One time, McGrady recalled, he had Diana and Harry for lunch, where he made sole florentine for the Princess of Wales and spaghetti bolognese for Harry. Sometimes, he noted, Diana would change the menu completely when a friend might join them for lunch at Kensington Palace; then, he said, they might opt for his tomato mousse followed by lobster thermidor with a pear flan for dessert.<\/p>\n Sometimes, McGrady said, Diana would tell him to take lunch off so that she could take her sons to McDonald\u2019s<\/a>. McGrady\u2014who worked as a chef for the royal household beginning in the 1980s and who worked specifically for Diana from 1993 until her death on August 31, 1997\u2014said that Diana, William, and Harry\u2019s trips to the Golden Arches were about more than just food, explaining (via People<\/a>), \u201cOne lunchtime, I was getting lunch ready and the princess came in and said, \u2018Cancel lunch today. I\u2019m taking them out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry on March 30, 1993<\/p>\n \u201cI asked, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019 and she said, \u2018McDonald\u2019s,\u2019\u201d he remembered. \u201cI said, \u2018I can do burgers better than McDonald\u2019s,\u2019 and she said, \u2018I know that, Darren, but they want the toys and the Happy Meal.\u2019 They would get fast food sometimes, just like normal families with children.\u201d<\/p>\n He also recalled that the menu he cooked for the princess changed from when she was solo following her separation from Prince Charles<\/a> in 1992 and their divorce in 1996 and when the kids came to Kensington Palace. \u201cIt changed from Princess Diana\u2019s healthy eating\u2014stuffed peppers, aubergine, vegetarian dishes\u2014to nursery food,\u201d McGrady said. \u201cWills and Harry loved cottage pie, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries, potato wedges, macaroni cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Princess Diana, Prince Harry, and Prince William in September 1995<\/p>\n William, in particular, had a sweet tooth: \u201cWilliam would walk into the kitchen and say, \u2018Darren, can I have some chocolate ice cream, please?\u2019\u201d McGrady said (via Marie Claire<\/a>). \u201cI\u2019d say, \u2018Help yourself.\u2019 He\u2019d grab H\u00e4agen-Dazs chocolate chip\u2014that was his favorite\u2014open it, and sit in the windowsill eating it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so much more relaxed over at Kensington,\u201d McGrady continued.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry on May 7, 1995<\/p>\n The chef\u2019s YouTube channel is a wealth of information if you should, you know, want to eat like the most famous woman in the world for a day. As for breakfast? McGrady said she ate the same meal \u201cevery day\u201d\u2014what he called \u201cPrincess Diana\u2019s Overnight Oats\u201d (and he shared the recipe, to boot!).<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8975ecbd5d48ee2ae00c52bb91111f17.jpeg\"\/)
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