We can't wait to copy the Queen's GENIUS way of eating mince pies this Christmas

The way that Queen Elizabeth II loved mince pies to be served to her and her royal guests at Christmas has been revealed by her former royal chef and his simple trick sounds utterly delicious. 

• The Queen's genius way of eating mince pies at Christmas time has been revealed and we can't wait to try it. 
• Queen Elizabeth II famously adored spending and hosting Christmas at the Sandringham Estate during her 70-year reign and had plenty of foodie traditions tied into her royal family Christmas.
•  In other royal news, King Charles shared a rare look at royal Christmas lunch at Windsor Castle as fans thanked him for an 'amazing snippet of history'.

The royal family's first Christmas since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September is just around the corner, with King Charles III hosting his first festive celebration as monarch at the famous Sandringham Estate. 

It's expected that King Charles and Queen Camilla will gather with key members of the family to mark Christmas 2022, with the absence of his mother no doubt highlighting the huge hole created by the death of Her Majesty. 

The Queen left behind a long-lasting legacy of royal Christmas traditions, and her former royal chef has revealed a delicious mince pie trick she loved when it came to Christmas feasting. 

Darren McGrady who headed up the kitchens in Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace for 15 years, shared the seriously yummy sounding way that the Queen had mince pies served at the most wonderful time of the year. 

Speaking in a mince pie recipe video on his YouTube channel, Darren, who also cooked for Princess Diana, explained, "You've got to let them go completely cold. I know, it's hard - they smell gorgeous but hide them away somewhere, go for a walk."

Divulging more hacks for the perfect royally-approved mince pie, Darren revealed the ultimate festive foodie trick, recalling how he would remove the lids of the pies and place a dollop of brandy butter within.

"Once they're cold, then you can run a knife around the edges and carefully lift them out onto a serving tray. Later in the day, around lunch time, once the entrée had gone into the dining room, then you could put the pies back in the oven and we had to do that to get them really, really hot," he said.

"You saw earlier when I made them that I didn't put any egg on the lids because I didn't want them to stick to the mince pies. We take the brandy butter and then just lift the lid and put some brandy butter into each one."

Darren also admitted that getting a little overzealous with the icing sugar topping on the yuletide pies can be hazardous, recounting the moment Prince Philip inhaled a puff of it, saying, "We had to be careful how much powdered sugar we put on top of the pies. I remember one Sandringham Christmas, Prince Philip nearly choking because he inhaled the powdered sugar off the top of the mince pie."