Here's What Queen Elizabeth Typically Ate In A Day

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Queen Elizabeth II was one of a kind. 

Historically, there have been few public figures who've been quite as regal and mysterious as the queen, who reigned over England for more than 70 years and obviously lived quite a fabulous life. And while her many riches likely gave her access to great physicians who helped her live a long, long time, people have also wondered what else she did to stay so healthy.

Surprisingly enough, the queen's diet just might've been the key factor in her health and longevity. In fact, a lot of what the queen ate is considered to be quite healthy, which undoubtedly kept her in such great condition despite her age. Queen Elizabeth obviously didn't have to worry about money, and had access to personal chefs and plenty of staff to see to it that she ate great food. However, as it turns out, eating like royalty isn't actually all that hard — at least, not when it comes to what Queen Elizabeth typically ate in a day.

If Queen Elizabeth had been a millennial, she definitely wouldn't have been snapping pictures of her food to post on social media.

Many people have likely heard the dieting advice, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." The phrase is popular among those looking to control their portions and drop some pounds; however, perhaps the best portion control advice comes from Queen Elizabeth's daily diet. While you might assume the queen treated herself to extravagant truffles, cakes, and trays of expensive caviar all day, every day — insider sources have said the opposite is true. 

In fact, Darren McGrady, who served as a chef in the royal kitchen, explained that the queen is "not a foodie," according to The Telegraph. "She eats to live," McGrady said, noting that Prince Philip "[loved] to eat and would stand and talk food all day." Honestly, when you're the queen and you have access to any kind of food or dessert you could possibly imagine, it must've taken a lot of discipline to not totally pig out every day. 

Queen Elizabeth was obviously a routine queen — especially when it came to her favorite morning beverage. 

In America, it's pretty common for most adults to start their day with a cup (or three) of coffee. If you're American, coffee is definitely the most popular way to get your caffeine fix and jumpstart your day; however, in England, tea is a more popular caffeine choice. And for Queen Elizabeth, starting each day with a cup of tea was part of her normal, everyday routine.

Specifically, according to British Telecommunications, the queen always drank Earl Grey tea in the morning, right before breakfast. And the queen didn't take her tea with milk or sugar, meaning there weren't any hidden calories in her morning cup of caffeine. That said, British Telecommunications also reports that the queen took her tea with some biscuits (or cookies, if you're American), so her morning routine wasn't completely devoid of deliciousness. Still, Earl Grey tea is full of health benefits like antioxidants, which might be part of the reason why Queen Elizabeth was so fit and healthy for so long.

No scones for Queen Elizabeth, please!

While the language may be the same in England as it is in America, there are still plenty of differences — such as breakfast pastries. While Americans know what scones are, they aren't as popular in the United States as they are across the pond. However, while scones are often served with tea and are a fairly popular sweet treat in England, that doesn't mean Queen Elizabeth was a fan of the pastries. 

In fact, though the queen might've been offered scones at breakfast, she didn't eat them. Instead, Queen Elizabeth's staff had to take on the hard job of downing the queen's scones. "The poor royal pastry chef, he spends all day making these scones and they get fed to the corgis under the table!" Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell told TLC (via News24). Burrell continued, "The queen never eats the scones; the corgis eat them." For whatever reason, Queen Elizabeth just wasn't fond of scones, and she wouldn't waste her time with them. Hey, the woman knew what she liked!

Queen Elizabeth's breakfast was probably familiar to many people, even if they aren't royalty. 

Clearly, decadence wasn't really a major factor taken into consideration by Queen Elizabeth when she was deciding what she wanted to eat. This was especially true when it came to breakfast. Sure, the queen could've had mimosas and French toast every morning if she'd wanted to; however, Queen Elizabeth was particularly fond of this one breakfast item — and it wasn't all that exciting.

According to Reader's Digest, Queen Elizabeth was reportedly a huge cereal fan – and her favorite brand just might be yours, too: Special K. The popular low-calorie cereal known for the diet of the same name in America is what the queen chose to start her day with most of the time. Honestly, it's not like the cereal is anything special or fancy, and it's also quite affordable. So, if you've ever wanted to eat like royalty, all you really need to do is pick up a box of Special K the next time you're at the supermarket! Queens –  they're just like us!

Queen Elizabeth was worth a lot of money, but she was also quite practical. 

On most days, Queen Elizabeth really only had tea, biscuits, and cereal for breakfast. However, every so often, the queen liked to mix things up for breakfast by eating something with a bit more flavor.

According to Reader's Digest, the queen sometimes simply ate toast with a marmalade, or she went all out and had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and truffle grated on top. Reader's Digest also notes that Queen Elizabeth preferred brown eggs because she thought they had a better taste to them. Now, it's worth noting that this wasn't something Queen Elizabeth ate every day, but if she had a guest (or was just feeling hungrier than usual), a fancy scrambled egg wasn't out of the question. Of course, this breakfast sounds a lot more regal than her Special K morning meal. Clearly, balance was key for this queen.

Queen Elizabeth's energy often seemed boundless. After all, being the literal Queen of England seemed pretty exhausting — and even though Queen Elizabeth could've totally retired and taken time off, she was still the reigning monarch in Britain. 

That said, the queen had to properly fuel her body to give her the energy to get through her day. And when it came to her afternoon, energy-boosting meal, Queen Elizabeth kept it pretty simple — as well as fairly light.

Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell told TLC (via News24) that the queen had one favorite meal to eat in the afternoon, and it sounded quite sophisticated. "I don't think it's betraying any state secrets to tell you that the queen loves cheese and tomato sandwiches on granary bread and cucumber sandwiches on white bread," Burrell said. Additionally, Darren McGrady, who was the former chef in the royal kitchen, told The Telegraph that another one of Queen Elizabeth's most common lunches was grilled Dover sole served with spinach and zucchini. Once again, the queen proved that her diet was pretty plain, but it was clearly working for her.

When you're Queen Elizabeth (or any member of the royal family), you probably get used to having fancy dinner parties with dignitaries and foreign ambassadors. 

A lavish meal with plenty to go around, endless alcohol, and all the desserts one could possibly imagine is likely what people expect of royal dinners, but that's not always the reality — at least, not for Queen Elizabeth. Sure, the queen might've indulged while she was entertaining guests, but for the most part, her dinner was pretty healthy.

The queen's former chef, Darren McGrady — who worked for her for over 10 years — told CNN that when Queen Elizabeth was home alone, she'd have a meal that would make every nutritionist proud: a grilled or poached portion of fish and then a salad and vegetables on the side. "That's it. That's all she has," McGrady said. He continued, saying, "She's very disciplined like that. She could have anything she wanted, but it is that discipline that keeps her so well and so healthy." 

Whether or not Queen Elizabeth had people over for dinner, there were the random occasions when the royal monarch chose to truly indulge at the end of the day. After all, being a queen must've been exhausting, and who wouldn't want to wind down from a long day of royal duties with an extravagant meal?

According to The Independent, there were days when Queen Elizabeth would go for a richer meat, such as venison or beef, or even salmon or pheasant. Whatever type of protein she chose, it was then turned into what's called a Gaelic steak, which is served with a cream, whisky, and mushroom sauce. Um — is anyone else suddenly starving?

As noted by The Independent, Queen Elizabeth was also one for tradition, so she'd occasionally consume the traditional Sunday roast, which she preferred to be cooked well done. This is certainly the kind of meal that nourishes your soul, as well as your body. Now, that sounds like a dinner fit for a queen.

Queen Elizabeth's drinking habits were just as classy as she was!

Obviously, alcohol isn't very healthy, especially if you drink a lot of it. But just like most things, consuming alcohol in moderation won't kill you. For Queen Elizabeth, alcoholic beverages were definitely part of her daily routine, but not in the excess amount you might imagine when you hear "alcoholic beverages" and "daily routine" in the same sentence.

Queen Elizabeth's former chef Darren McGrady told CNN all about the monarch's drinking habits, making it clear that the queen didn't drink to get wasted. According to McGrady, the queen would have a drink to loosen up, but "just in the evening. McGrady continued, saying, "She certainly doesn't drink four glasses a day. She'd be pickled if she drank that much." Added the former chef, "All I said was she likes a gin and Dubonnet. That's her favorite drink." 

Queen Elizabeth could be somewhat of a picky eater, especially when it came to the ingredients used to give her foods flavor. 

If you've ever been interested or fascinated by the royal family, then you might have heard the rumors that Queen Elizabeth had one specific ingredient that she wasn't too fond of — and for many people, it's quite surprising. For the longest time, the queen hated garlic. And while it's unclear exactly why, garlic was not permitted in the queen's kitchen — or in her food. Darren McGrady, the former royal chef, told Recipes Plus that chefs in the royal kitchen "can never serve anything with garlic or too many onions." McGrady continued, revealing, "The queen would never have garlic on the menu." 

When asked what the royals couldn't eat during an appearance on MasterChef Australia (via AOL), Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, replied, "I hate to say this, but garlic." She continued, saying, "Garlic is a no-no." For whatever reason, garlic was off-limits when dining with the queen — leaving us to wonder what the staff used to season the queen's food.

Queen Elizabeth might've had more in common with you than you realize — especially if you're a big fan of chocolate.

Though members of the royal family lead pretty charmed lives, they're still human beings, just like us. Sure, they wear crowns and jewels and have net worths equivalent to the GDP of a small nation, but they're still people. And like normal people, Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a bit of chocolate. In fact, the queen was actually known to adore the sweet treat.

Darren McGrady, former royal chef to Queen Elizabeth, told CNN that Queen Elizabeth was "a chocoholic." However, McGrady continued, adding that the queen had a specific preference for her chocolatey treats. "It has to be the dark chocolate ... the darker the better," he said. Added McGrady, "She wasn't keen on milk chocolate or white chocolate." With antioxidants, fiber, and a ton of other nutrients, Queen Elizabeth honestly couldn't have picked a better way to satisfy her sweet tooth than with dark chocolate. 

Queen Elizabeth was the queen of self-restraint, according to her former chef.

One of the hardest parts of being an adult is not stuffing your face with cookies and chips at all hours of the day just because you can. Self-control is a difficult lesson to learn, but it seemingly runs in the royal blood, as Queen Elizabeth mastered the art of telling herself no. The queen might've indulged every now and then in rich meals and delicious desserts, but for the most part, she was strict with her diet. And, there was one thing she absolutely avoided that probably made her healthy diet even healthier.

Darren McGrady, a former chef in the royal kitchens, told The Telegraph that the queen obviously would eat more when she entertained guests. However, McGrady clarified, "When she dines on her own, she's very disciplined." And according to McGrady, part of the queen's discipline included saying no to starch. Of course, this means no baked potatoes, dinner rolls, or even corn would be found on the queen's dinner table. While that may sound pretty boring, it's impressive that the queen could display such restraint. 

Queen Elizabeth was a total farm-to-table kind of gal. 

In the world we live in, there are plenty of health trends that come and go. The keto diet, intermittent fasting, going vegan, and macro tracking have all been pretty popular in recent years, but another health trend that's garnered plenty of attention is eating local, organic food. However, trendy as it may be, Queen Elizabeth was long eating local, organic, farm-to-table foods — even before it was cool.

"The queen loves to eat food from the estate," former chef Darren McGrady told CNN. McGrady added that the queen preferred vegetables that were home-grown, and meat from any of her estates. McGrady also told RecipesPlus (via Delish), that the queen wasn't a stickler for seasonal foods. "You can send strawberries every day to the Queen during summer at Balmoral [Castle] and she'll never say a word." McGrady explained. Clearly, having a ton of estates and plenty of money makes eating locally a lot easier, but Queen Elizabeth was ahead of the food trends for a while.

After a long, hard day of being the longest-reigning monarch in England, you might expect Queen Elizabeth to simply head off to bed and get some well-earned sleep. However, this queen wasn't too old or too tired  to treat herself in the most royal way possible before drifting off to dreamland. As it turns out, Queen Elizabeth liked to end her day with a glass of bubbly — and honestly, who can blame her?

According to The Independent, Queen Elizabeth liked a nice glass of champagne every day (or, in this case, every night), and she was fond of several brands. Lanson, Krug, and Bollinger were reportedly three of her favorite brands of champagne — so if you're ever in the mood to drink like the queen, now you know how. Perhaps the queen preferred to eat healthy throughout the day so that she could truly enjoy her nightly glass of champagne. Whatever the case may be, if anyone deserved a glass of bubbly every night, it was Queen Elizabeth.