Prince Philip and Princess Anne embraced surprising Balmoral tradition and got involved in the kitchen
Former royal chef Darren McGrady remembers how the royals would get stuck in and work together as a family
With summer in full swing, the Royal Family are likely preparing for their annual holiday to Balmoral, the Aberdeenshire estate that has been their private haven for over 100 years. Spending August-October there was an important tradition to the late Queen Elizabeth and she would welcome her family for visits.
The Queen was so relaxed at Balmoral that she would "hang up her tiara on the front gates and put on a headscarf" and become "Granny and Mum", according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the royals for 15 years.
He has also spoken about the surprising tradition that the likes of Prince Philip and Princess Anne upheld. Apparently, different members of the family took responsibility for a different course of a meal - and they'd really "get stuck in".
Describing it almost like a royal version of Channel 4's Come Dine With Me - or the most regal potluck dinner ever - Darren, as per Aberdeen Live, shared, "You’d often get Princess Anne come down to the kitchen and say, 'I’m in charge of the first course tonight, what can I take?'"
He added, "Then Prince Edward would come down and be in charge of pudding, so would want to do something like pancakes. We’d make the batter and he’d want to fill them with things like raspberries or strawberries from the garden with ice cream."
It’s a different way of picturing the royals, for sure. And for Darren, it showed their close knit family principles - "They worked as a family on creating this meal, which they loved. They weren’t afraid to let their hair down and get stuck in."
By the sound of it, it’s a tradition which stemmed from the late Duke of Edinburgh’s love for cooking during their family summers. The former royal chef explained, "Prince Philip was the most passionate of cooks in the kitchen. They would go off and take BBQs at Balmoral... He loved to cook and cared about foods and recipes."
Darren recalled that he'd pop into the kitchen and ask if there was any venison around for a family BBQ in the hills.
"He’d go on to ask what we could marinate them with and what vegetables were in the garden," the chef said. "He’d often walk the gardens and see what’s in there. He loved local produce. Then he would be in charge of cooking the main course."
This image of the royals dropping the airs and graces and coming together like any other family is one that Prince Edward’s ex-girlfriend, West End star Ruthie Henshall, also opened up about recently.
The author of The Showgirl and the Prince spoke with HELLO’'s A Right Royal Podcast where she reminisced on the "surreal" experience of watching the royals, without any protection officers, "doing the cooking and cleaning" themselves.
Similar to the fun they’d have taking over a course of the meal each, Ruthie also remembered King Charles manning the bar and offering up rather potent martinis, describing their time at the Scottish estate as "a family just having a good time".
