Queen Camilla's essential tea party snack has specific requirements - and it's all down to a surprising royal superstition

Afternoon tea used to be a British institution and it still is for the Royal Family, though theirs is slightly more spectacular than most. We're talking moreish cakes and scones served on silver cake stands rather than a quick cuppa and a biscuit.

However, a traditional afternoon tea wouldn't be the same without a savoury selection too and Queen Camilla's essential tea snack is sandwiches. Royal sandwiches have a specific requirement and we saw it upheld at a recent tea party hosted by Her Majesty.

Speaking on the Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Kitchen, former royal chef Graham Newbould previously claimed, "The royals never have square sandwiches because tradition has it that anyone presenting them with pointed-edged food is trying to overthrow the throne of England."

Nowadays it's probably more to do with tradition than genuine belief in this theory, but we can see for ourselves that royal sandwiches aren't pointy. Queen Camilla recently held a very special tea party at Clarence House for children supported by the fantastic charity, Dreams and Wishes.

They are dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families build precious memories and the Queen pulled out all the stops for their magical royal tea party. The children arrived by horse-drawn carriage and sat down to eat sandwiches and cakes with Camilla.

The Queen's Equerry, Major Treasure, also set them on a treasure hunt which led to chocolate coins which were hidden under the Grenadier Guards' hats. So much thought went into this wonderful event and we got to see glimpses of the day in a video shared on Instagram.

In both this and pictures taken at the tea party, you can also clearly see that the sandwiches had the corners rounded off so they weren't strictly square or pointed. As well as potentially avoiding the overthrowing of King Charles's reign, this shape also looks so refined and who doesn't love a crustless sandwich too?

We don't know what fillings were chosen for Queen Camilla's tea party, though the royals have some well-known preferences in general. The late Queen Elizabeth loved jam pennies - sandwiches cut into circles - and according to another former royal chef Darren McGrady, they "usually" featured strawberry jam.

Cucumber sandwiches are another popular choice and, as per The Mirror, presenter Jenny Hanley previously said on Boom Radio that there was mint in her sandwich at a royal Garden Party.

"The most wonderful thing that happened at one of the Buckingham Palace garden parties that I was lucky enough to go to was not the fact of the scones but the cucumber sandwiches," she reportedly declared. "[W]hen you've had a cucumber sandwich out on the grass at the back of Buckingham Palace and the sun is shining and there's mint in it, then you know you've made it!"

For the recent tea party, Queen Camilla probably thought about what the children would like best. Dreams and Wishes was established in 2011 and is run entirely by a dedicated team of volunteers. Posting afterwards they said that the occasion was an "incredibly proud day" for everyone and an "experience [they] will never forget".