Princess Diana Stayed Away From 1 Food Unless Her Boys Were Around

Princess Diana’s approach to food was famously disciplined, but her former chef says the Princess of Wales made one notable exception when her sons were around.

Darren McGrady, who spent 11 years cooking for Queen Elizabeth II before joining Diana at Kensington Palace in 1993, revealed the surprising dish that appeared on the menu only when Princes William and Harry were at the table.

---

A Health-Conscious Menu — With One Big Exception

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lady Diana, Princess of Wales (@lady.diana._)

As reported by InStyle, McGrady said Diana’s day-to-day meals reflected a clean, light style. “She never ate pork,” he said. “Occasionally, she’d have lamb when she was entertaining guests, but for the most part it was chicken, fish, or vegetarian options.”

He added that the beloved princess “was into healthy eating, so we never had beef on the menu unless the boys were home.”

Moving from Buckingham Palace to Kensington meant reworking his cooking. “When I was cooking for her [Diana], I had to change my style of cooking,” he said. “I had to move from cooking food for the Queen—heavy sauces, rich sauces and creams—to start cooking lighter food again, cutting out the fats, cutting out the carbs.”

According to McGrady, Diana was clear about the plan: “She would say, ‘You take care of all the fats, and I’ll take care of all the carbs at the gym.’ So dishes like tomato mousse, which she really liked, she’d say, ‘Make me a fat-free version.’”

---

Lunch at Kensington: Comfort Food—& Occasionally McDonald’s

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lady Diana, Princess of Wales (@lady.diana._)

The royal chef further revealed that the palace menu often shifted toward “nursery-friendly” comfort food when William and Harry were home from boarding school.

It changed from Princess Diana’s healthy eating—stuffed peppers, eggplant, vegetarian dishes—to nursery food,” McGrady said. “Wills and Harry loved cottage pie, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries, potato wedges, macaroni cheese.”

On occasion, the princess was also known to switch things up.

McGrady revealed to People that one afternoon, “the princess came in and said, ‘Cancel lunch today. I’m taking them out.’” When he asked where, “she said, ‘McDonald’s.’” He protested—“I said, ‘I can do burgers better than McDonald’s,’” he remembered—only to get the matter-of-fact response, “she said, ‘I know that, Darren, but they want the toys and the Happy Meal.’ They would get fast food sometimes, just like normal families with children.”

Even with those indulgences, the princess balanced discipline with delight—making space for the boys’ favorites, a spontaneous drive-thru, and, yes, the occasional beef dinner when William and Harry were home.