Royal dinners are a rich affair, but there’s a secret element that helps the occasions run smoothly by communicating with royal staff.

These lavish events occur up to three times a year in either St. George’s Hall at Windsor Palace or the Buckingham Palace Assembly Hall.

Tom Parker Bowles commented on their extravagance, explaining that these feasts are not simple meals but rather splendidly arranged culinary performances. Rulers, sovereigns, lords, and presidents gather to enjoy the timeless power of the communal table.

Even though dinners can include three courses, they remain effective diplomatic tools—consumable statecraft at its finest.

Tom Parker Bowles uncovered a behind-the-scenes framework: red and green traffic signals are concealed in the gallery. When the lights change, one course is removed, and the next is served.

The tradition of writing dinner menus in French continues, with the King and Queen carefully reviewing each one before approval. The late Sovereign, like the King, was a fanatic for detail.

While exploring his new book, Tom Parker Bowles stopped to speak with royal culinary expert Mark Flanigan and revealed that the menus were always created by Her Majesty for her guests, rather than for herself. She often included her own ideas or remembered what certain guests enjoyed from their last visit.

Tom Parker Bowles shared insights into the dietary habits of the current Royals: “Sovereign Camilla, my mother, has an exceptionally light lunch—a bowl of chicken soup, maybe, or some smoked salmon. The King doesn’t have lunch at all.”

Tea, however, is a serious but very relaxed meal, no matter where it takes place. While meals away from official formality are quite casual, the royal dinners remain a spectacle of tradition and elegance.