Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96, as the world's oldest head of state. She favored "sensible exercise" over rigorous workouts and loved spending time in nature. The Queen liked simple, healthy meals, but also enjoyed a daily gin and ate dark chocolate.
Queen Elizabeth seemed to have taken this to heart, eating lighter meals composed of simple proteins and vegetables at night. A longtime sportswoman, Queen Elizabeth frequently dined on venison, wild birds, or other game — often sourced on one of her properties — or salmon fished from the River Dee at Balmoral Castle.
Simple cooked meat and vegetables lead the way, with space for pheasant or venison should the Queen wish. Of course, Queen Elizabeth loved a Sunday roast just as much as anyone else. Along with chocolate, the Queen enjoyed some strawberries or peaches for dessert.
What was Queen Elizabeth's favorite food? As a young girl, Princess Elizabeth's favorite food was jam pennies–tiny, crustless sandwiches made with white bread, strawberry jam, and butter. The affinity for these little finger sandwiches extended into her adult life and throughout her reign.
McGrady says the Queen has four meals a day - but only eats small portions at each. In a series of YouTube Q&A videos, he says that during his time as her personal chef between 1982 and 1993, the Queen would eat breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. For breakfast she keeps things simple.
Queen Elizabeth II didn't eat fast food
And if she ever got a craving for it, the chefs would cook up their own versions. She was especially particular about burgers, only eating them without the bun.
Kellogg's, Quaker Oats, and Weetabix all hold royal warrants. However, she likes her cereal to be served from Tupperware, which she believes keeps it fresh.
Let's see what the People's Princess' favourite dish was... According to the royal chef Darren, "Her favourite dish was bell peppers stuffed with zucchini, mushrooms, rice, garlic topped with Parmesan and mozzarella and finished with a smoked tomato and pepper sauce." "She asked for this dish several times a week."
Apparently, she heads to bed at 10.30pm each evening in order to get a good night's sleep. The bling is stunning, obviously. Regular exercise is also said to help with sleep and Kate leads an active lifestyle, often talking about how she loves to get outdoors – it's thought that she runs or walks every day.
Although a fan of seafood, there was one ingredient the Queen, as well as Prince Philip, hated: oysters. In his book Dinner at Buckingham Palace, former royal servant Charles Oliver wrote: “Inevitably there are one or two things the Queen and her husband do not like, and the hosts are duly warned in advance.
Alex Parren told Express.co.uk: "As a Royal, Kate would have access to high quality, fresh, organic foods and this would be one reason she is able to stay so slim. "Avoiding ultra-processed foods and nourishing the body with fruits and vegetables that are as fresh as possible is one of the best ways to stay healthy.
Tea and biscuits
The Queen started her day with a cup of hot Earl Grey tea with milk, no sugar, and a few biscuits. In England, cookies or crackers are called biscuits. A piece in Hello! revealed that her all-time favorite biscuits were Chocolate Bath Olivers which are crunchy cookies enrobed in chocolate.
The Queen "is absolutely a chocoholic" according to former royal chef Darren McGrady. From delighting in her favourite chocolate truffles to tucking into afternoon tea every day, the monarch is no stranger to indulgence.
Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight — as the Queen did — are key to having a long and healthy life .
Starches like pasta or potatoes
As Elizabeth's chef Darren McGrady told The Telegraph, the monarch avoided these ingredients in order to keep fit. McGrady explained, "When she dines on her own, she's very disciplined. No starch is the rule. No potatoes, rice, or pasta for dinner.
Queen Elizabeth has some unexpected dining habits
Perhaps the secret to Elizabeth's long rule is her healthy, low carb dinner habit. The royal is said to never eat starches while dining alone – meaning pasta, potatoes and rice are off the menu.
As an old tradition dictates, royal couples never share the same bed or bedroom, allowing them to move freely while asleep. It allows them much needed alone time after hours of being in the limelight.
Perhaps this is a hobby of Queen Elizabeth's that will come as less of a surprise to most people. Stamp collecting is one of the world's most popular hobbies and is done in all cultures all over the world. Queen Elizabeth, herself appeared on several stamps, so it makes sense she had a collection!
The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall in London from Wednesday at 5pm until 6:30am Monday 19 September. Here's what that means and how you can be involved.
One of the last places Princess Diana visited before her death was the Ritz Paris hotel — or more specifically, "L'Espadon," the hotel's restaurant, for dinner on August 31, 1997. It has been reported that Diana's last meal consisted of Dover sole, vegetable tempura, and a mushroom and asparagus omelet.
In The Crown this season, the two women even meet up for lunch after the big engagement. But did this really happen in real life? According to Andrew Morton's biography, Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, written with his subject's cooperation in 1992, it did.
Though Princess Diana was a fan of grabbing fast food with her sons, Chef McGrady told Marie Claire she favored McDonald's. However, there's no evidence Diana took William and Harry for fast food after a Christmas holiday at Sandringham (though it's not out of the realm of possibility).
It's no surprise, really—the Queen has been described as a chocoholic, and so, we like to picture her nibbling on a Bendricks' Bittermint post-dinner. Everybody knows the Cadbury bunny—including the Queen, who granted the company a royal warrant in 1955.
Queen Elizabeth was a ruler, a royal, and, one of the most famous women in the entire world, but she was also a Brit to the core, evidenced by her lifelong love of fish and chips.
While the latter would hardly be scorned at a special occasion, the Queen is normally fond of foods such as Cornflakes, sausages, Dover sole with vegetables, eggs, and sandwiches with the crusts cut off.