United Kingdom (Commonwealth Union)_If the idea of a royal Christmas morning conjures images of the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and their kids cozily snuggled around a tree with hot tea and cocoa, we wouldn’t blame you. Nevertheless, you’d be wrong. As is custom in the royal family, Princess Catherine and Prince William will have their first meal on Christmas Day separately.
Darren McGrady, former royal chef outlined the family’s typical holiday celebrations at Sandringham House for the Daily Mail in 2017. Christmas Day celebrations start at 9 a.m. for the women and 8:30 a.m. for the men, according to McGrady. Whereas the women typically eat their breakfast — something light, like sliced fruit — in their bedrooms, the men will meet in the downstairs dining room for a savory breakfast of eggs, meat, and mushrooms.
Although McGrady never lists a specific reason why this tradition was started, the Mirror notes that women typically require more prep time in the mornings to complete their festive hair, makeup, and fashion looks.
The royal family has their first group meal during the afternoon.
An integral part of the Christmas celebrations of the Royal family is attending a church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church, which is conveniently located on the Windsors’ Sandringham estate. This annual event is highly publicized, and this might explain why the women spend more time perfecting their appearances before facing the crowd of photographers at the church. The royals reconvene for quite an elaborate menu after breakfast and service.
Per Darren McGrady, who served as the royal chef under the late Queen Elizabeth II from 1982 to 1997, the royal family enjoys their first group “meal” after the service at St. Mary Magdalene with a round of pre-lunch cocktails and beer. The family snacks on nuts however, drinking champagne and other libations prior to sitting down for lunch together at 1 pm. Traditionally Royal children, eat separately from the adults in the nursery at 12:30 pm.
The royal Christmas Day lunch includes turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, and winter vegetables. Following their first course, the family moves on to a boozy Christmas pudding that McGrady said is often made the year before to allow for maximum maturation. Next is cheese and wine, then a festive tea, before culminating with a black tie dinner at 8:15 pm. Many royals unsurprisingly, sneak in a quick snooze in between events to give their day-long noshing a chance to digest.
Christmas Day is not the only time the royal family’s meals are served separately.
Royal children are not only required to eat in the nursery during Christmas lunch. They’re also required to do so at any major events year-round. Darren McGrady explained why, for example, the Prince and Princess of Wales cannot eat dinner with their kids every night, to Harper’s Bazaar Australia.
McGrady explained (via the Mirror) that the children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table. He said the Royal nursery was not just for educating the young minds of the royals but for educating their palates, too. Nanny always had control of the menu and ensured they ate balanced meals that included not only lots of healthy vegetables but introduced them to new grown-up dishes, too. Because royal kids are still, well, kids, McGrady said that the separate meals allowed the chefs to sneak veggies into the children’s favorite foods so that they would actually eat them.
Spending Christmas morning apart from your loved ones is one of several traditions that family newcomers must quickly get used to, which might explain why Princess Catherine’s first royal Christmas was reportedly nerve-wracking. There is plenty to fuss over between the strict schedule, dining etiquette, and monarch-in-laws. The Windsors thankfully have a few lavish days of feasting and festivities to distract them from anything not so jolly.
