According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked with different members of the British royal family over 15 years, the former monarch never ate pizza, which her son King Charles, grandson Prince William, and all three of his children love. The Queen typically preferred traditional French-inspired food, or simpler food such as grilled fish and vegetables.

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In an interview with Us Weekly in July 2020, he revealed: “In the years that I cooked at [Buckingham Palace], the Queen never had pizza. I didn’t start cooking pizza until I moved across to Kensington Palace.”

When he moved over to cook for the late Princess Diana and her family, during his last four years working with the family, it became a common fixture on the menu. “I [made] pizza all the time for William,” he continued. “In my second cookbook, The Royal Chef at Home, there’s a chicken tikka masala pizza [recipe] because he loves Indian food. The pizza combined the two.”

The rest of the British royal family love pizza

It seems that a love of pizza must have grown later in the bloodline: King Charles was pictured in 2001 expertly spinning some dough while he paid a visit to The Benvenuti Italian Restaurant in Alnwick, Northumberland, looking like a professional.

Meanwhile in 2018, the Princess of Wales revealed that she and the children love homemade pizza during a visit to St Luke’s Community Centre. She said: “I really enjoy making pizza dough with George and Charlotte because they like getting their hands messy.”

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Prince George was also pictured tucking into a few slices of pizza when he attended the England v Australia cricket match as part of the Ashes with his father in 2023. Clearly, it’s an all-round, all-occasion family favourite!

What snack did the late Queen Elizabeth II enjoy?

Though she wasn’t known as a foodie, the late Queen did have her favourites, one of which was chocolate. During an exclusive interview with HELLO!, Darren said that she was “absolutely a chocoholic,” adding: “Anything we put on the menu that had chocolate on, she would choose.”

Danielle Stacey, HELLO!‘s Online Royal Correspondent, explains that: “The late Queen was reportedly a huge fan of a chocolate biscuit cake, something she shared in common with her grandson, Prince William, who even requested that the sweet treat be served at his wedding to Kate in 2011”.