12 Of King Charles' Rather Peculiar Food Habits
The British Isles have a mixed reputation when it comes to famous food. But when you are literally the king, and you can pretty much have whatever you want to eat, what would be your repeat orders? One could enlist a renowned pastry chef to make fresh scones or crumpets every morning, or opt for Wagyu steak, beluga caviar, or bluefin sushi for dinner. What if King Charles III's preferences are just like the hoi polloi and all he craves is Kraft macaroni and cheese or a Hostess Ding Dong? After all, at least two former presidents of the United States are reputed stans of McDonald's' Big Macs.
Truly, the world is King Charles' oyster, and he can have several dozen of the highest quality on demand if he so chooses. We uncovered a few of his odder dietary habits as well as personal passion projects when it comes to food that only a king could see through to fruition.
He tends to skip lunch
King Charles III tends to skip lunch. Instead of a midday repast, he opts for an invigorating breakfast, and has been candid about his particular admiration for fresh fruit and seeds — preferably locally sourced — as a start to the morning. He's also admitted to liking cheesy baked eggs for brunch. While a common lunchtime meal in Great Britain might be fish and chips or bangers and mash, those aren't typically on this king's itinerary. Instead, he saves his appetite for a hearty supper when the sun sets.
It might come across as rather a strange dietary routine for many people, particularly for a royal monarch who can eat or drink pretty much anything he wants all day every day. Just look up King Henry VIII or King George IV as a couple of examples of how falling into that pattern might affect your overall health, though. It seems the current king of England might be looking at his family history as an example of how not to overindulge in the luxuries that come with the throne and has opted for quality over quantity, instead.
King Charles III adheres to a mostly plant-based diet
Dedication to a primarily plant-based diet might have been considered peculiar a decade or two ago. Though it's still not the most commonly embraced eating habit, it's become more and more the norm lately. And while King Charles III was not necessarily ahead of the trend, he picked up on it and has, of late, avoided eating meat or fish two days per week and also goes completely vegan one day of the week. So, while he doesn't completely abstain from eating meat or animal products, he tries to limit the amount he consumes.
This adjustment in King Charles III's eating habits stems largely from his decades of deep focus on climate change and a conclusion that mass farming and consumption of livestock can have a devastating impact on the environment of the planet, which has earned him the moniker "climate king" in the press.
He won't eat pasta, shellfish, or potatoes in public
When you're a member of any royal family, it's important to keep up appearances and look posh and polished at all times. Sometimes life results in messy affairs — though we do not say that in reference to King Charles III and Queen Camilla's relationship history; that topic has been well covered.
Certain meal items and being photographed while eating them have been documented as a concern pertaining to the British monarchy. There are specific dishes that need to be consumed in private quarters and without paparazzi buzzing around so as to ensure the king doesn't literally get his picture taken with food on his face. The three no-no's are potatoes, pasta, and shellfish.
Shellfish is a bit understandable as a general rule because it can sometimes take an embarrassing amount of effort to pry open a mussel or crack a lobster claw — it's not an elegant process. Pasta, whether it's a verdant pesto sauce or a bright red marinara, can end up on the king's clothing and we wouldn't want that, either. The presence of potatoes on this no-fly list is somewhat confusing, though.
The king enjoys salmon that he's caught personally
If you are a farmer, gardener, forager, hunter, or fisher, is there anything better than eating something that you grew, found, raised, or caught all by yourself? Store-bought meat and produce cannot compare to the experience of literally bringing home the bacon, and apparently King Charles III agrees. And when it comes to fish, for the current sovereign, it's all about salmon.
King Charles III's affinity for salmon is apropos considering that there are a couple of species of salmon that the culinary world has crowned "king salmon." This avid fisherman might prefer what he catches near Balmoral Castle, but otherwise he needs to travel to the Pacific Northwest to snap up some impressively large Chinook salmon, or venture to New Zealand for Ora King salmon.
To address King Charles III's interest in the environment, it's worth noting that some wild salmon, including coho and sockeye, are considered endangered. Catching one or two fish for sport and enjoying a nice meal is fine and dandy, but it's also great to ensure they're still around for the future.
King Charles III forages for wild mushrooms
An amateur mushroom forager who ventures into the woods aiming to discover fungi that's safe for consumption might want to have a seasoned expert as a guide. Fairy tales, Disney movies, and even some "Mario Bros." adventures include cautionary tales about the potential toxins in various wild mushroom varieties.
King Charles III has been a fan of foraging for mushrooms for a while, and this recreational activity fully ties in with his adherence to a plant-based diet and love of the outdoors. Unfortunately, it was while he was on one of these adventures rooting around in the forest that he reportedly received the news that his mother Queen Elizabeth II was in dire health. But hopefully, he will continue in his pursuit of this down to earth hobby that also puts a bit of food on the table.
King Charles III is fond of honey and inherited a colony of bees
King Charles III tends to gravitate towards a vegetarian and vegan diet. Honey, however, is not vegan due to the fact that it comes from animals. Bees gather pollen when flowers are in bloom, and they produce honey for a reason. It's a sustainable food source for the colony, especially when the weather is cold during winter and there is no pollen to collect. While there may be ways to collect small amounts of honey and not steal a detrimental amount that hurts the health of the hive, consuming honey is still not within the standards of a true vegan.
Honey, though, is part of the royal family's history, and the current king inherited a colony of an estimated 20,000 bees from the former "queen bee" — otherwise known as Queen Elizabeth II — but the line of inheritance goes back much farther than that. There is even an official royal beekeeper to look over the colony. And because King Charles III is not completely vegan, he does reportedly quite enjoy honey and even received a jar of honey from David Beckham as a coronation gift. For a monarchy that's been known for its colonization of various parts of the globe, the fact that King Charles owns a colony of bees shouldn't come as much surprise.
How King Charles III takes his tea, and his questionable thoughts on coffee
It shouldn't be a huge surprise that the king of England appreciates tea. Enjoying a nice cup in the morning, afternoon, and evening is a known practice across the commonwealth. King Charles III has a couple of preferred blends, one being the Indian tea leaves from Darjeeling, which his mother also quite enjoyed. He infuses his tea with milk and honey. He also enjoys green tea, but it needs to be brewed for three minutes precisely, and black tea should get a five-minute steep. It's also important that a thermometer check the temperature of the king's tea to ensure that it's hot to his liking.
But in terms of coffee, while he might enjoy it from time to time, a controversial book claims King Charles III's love of alternative medicine and homeopathy at one point extended towards proposing that coffee could work as a treatment for cancer patients. To be more specific, he was advocating using it as a cleansing enema. That idea didn't take off, and that's probably for the best.
The king turns his nose up at garlic, yet reportedly loves Italian food
King Charles III is not a fan of garlic, yet apparently, he is a big fan of Italian food. While it's entirely possible for anyone to simply dislike the pungent veggie, it's also quite possible that his reported distaste for garlic is rooted in the fact that royals are expected to have so much face-to-face interaction with the general public, shake hands with celebrities, and entertain dignitaries from around the world.
Anyone who's had garlic knows how much of a delicious impact it can make on certain dishes. But if you've been around someone who has recently consumed it, you know that it doesn't do any favors for your breath, and stinky garlic breath does not leave a good impression. Or maybe King Charles III is secretly a vampire? ... No, let's stick with a more logical, reality-based assumption.
King Charles III isn't a big fan of chocolate, though his mother was
Who doesn't like chocolate? This milky sweet treat is irresistible. But apparently, King Charles III is truly not a fan of chocolate, according to former manager of the Welsh National Culinary Team, Graham Tinsley, and prefers other kinds of desserts after a tasty dinner. What's odd, though, is that his mother Queen Elizabeth II reportedly enjoyed chocolate very much. Apparently, dessert palates are not hereditary.
Despite a lack of fondness for chocolate, at King Charles III's coronation, a life-sized bust of the sweet stuff was made in his honor, sculpted in the image of him in his full military uniform. Beyond being delicious, the other thing about chocolate is that it makes for excellent sculpting material, and this particular sculpture was so ornate and the occasion so important that it took a team nearly a month to get it perfect, utilizing popular chocolate candy bars to create the full effect. After all that effort, we're sure they would want people to admire it for as long as possible. However, it seems King Charles III would be just as eager to see it consumed by others.
Charles III loves biscuits so much that he baked up a business
King Charles III loves biscuits so much that he got into the biscuit business. He's in league with a company, Waitrose Duchy Organic, that has a whole line of products beyond simple shortbread.
Waitrose Duchy Organic's roots date all the way back to 1904 when a trio of grocers — Wallace Wyndham Waite, David Taylor, and Arthur Rose — opened their first store in Acton. The company expanded locations, managed to weather the difficult times during both world wars, and in 1955, opened its first store in London.
It has changed hands and names and partnerships over the years, but in 1990, it became Waitrose Duchy Organics, named for the then-Prince Charles' title as Duke of Cornwall. It has since received generous financial support from King Charles III. With his ascension to the throne, though, King Charles III is no longer known as Duke of Cornwall. That title now belongs to Prince William. It remains to be seen whether Prince William will take on a role in this enterprise.
The king fuels his vintage car with alcohol and cheese
King Charles III appreciates a martini with dinner every evening and is a champion of cheese. But while it's one thing to satisfy one's appetite and thirst with both, he's tinkered with a way to fuel his vintage 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Volante with them.
Many of us might be familiar with the method of using used cooking oil as a replacement for diesel, but leave it to King Charles III — notoriously environmentally conscious — to come up with a new approach that's fit for royal standards.
How does this work exactly? It's a combination of cheese whey and English white wine which both contain ethanol, that can serve in combination with petrol, also known as gasoline here in the United States. There was some push back from Aston Martin, but the company's engineers got the job done. And now the king can speed off in a vehicle that doesn't smell like french fries.
King Charles III prefers his eggs cooked for precisely four minutes
Some people like their eggs served sunny side up, hard boiled, scrambled, or prepared as an omelet. King Charles III only insists that if he's having soft-boiled eggs for breakfast, they're cooked for precisely four minutes.
For those who have never had a soft-boiled egg, the goal is to have a runny, bright yellow yolk with a soft texture to the white exterior. Gordon Ramsay has a few tips and tricks on how to nail the perfect soft-boiled egg, though he would argue that six minutes is the sweet spot. Whether you opt for King Charles III' four-minute preference or Ramsay's six minutes, Ramsay suggests that immediately after the cook, the eggs should get a quick bath in cold water, a crack at the base, followed by another trip into cold water. Then they would be cool enough to handle so that you can peel off the shell.