A look at what King Charles likes to eat as Buckingham Palace is hiring a new live-in chef

What does one eat when you are the monarch of the UK? Caviar? Venison? Wagyu Beef?

Whatever is in the Royal Family diet seems to work wonders as the late Elizabeth II at 96-years-old was the longest reigning monarch in British history and her eldest son is now the oldest heir apparent to succeed.

While Elizabeth used to have four square meals a day topped off with a glass of Dubonnet, Buckingham Palace chefs will have to amend their menus for King Charles who seemingly has different eating habits. 

Charles not only misses out on lunch as he believes it is a ‘luxury’, but also prefers to follow a mostly plant-based diet with a vegan menu one day a week for environmental reasons and a vegetarian meal plan on two other days.

Speaking to the BBC in 2021, King Charles said: “The business of what we eat is, of course, important. For years I haven't eaten meat and fish on two days a week. And I don't eat dairy products on one day a week. If more did that, you reduce a lot of the pressure on the environment.”

With Charles keen to reduce his carbon footprint through his eating habits, the Royal Family prioritises using organic ingredients that are in season at that time, for example a former royal chef insisted she would not serve asparagus or strawberries grown in the royal gardens in December.

The monarch and his mother began to grow fresh produce and keep bee-hives on several of their properties including Buckingham Palace and Balmoral, with Charles known to forage for wild mushrooms.

Although Charles focuses on following a plant-based diet three days a week, Clarence House revealed in 2020 that the 74-year-old’s favourite brunch is cheesy baked eggs including spinach, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, in addition to the King favouring a boiled egg with most of his meals.

When Charles is not eating eggs for brunch or mashing them into a side salad as the Independent reported, His Majesty favours a breakfast of fruit and seeds with tea according to his former press secretary Julian Payne.

Mr Payne said: “The King doesn’t eat lunch; so, an early lesson I learnt when out on the road with him was to have a big breakfast or bring a few snack bars with you to keep you going.”

In terms of what tea our King drinks, Clarence House revealed facts about the then-Prince Charles for his 70th birthday including that he prefers to drink a cup of Darjeeling tea with honey and milk. 

The change in menu couldn’t come at a better time as Buckingham Palace is looking to hire a new live-in Premier Sous Chef who specialises in preparing vegan dishes for the monarch and his guests at upcoming state banquets.

Whoever is successful in the role may have to note that King Charles does not like chocolate, coffee or garlic so will have to leave those key ingredients out of their future dishes.

It also must be noted that King Charles likes to conclude his meals with cheese and biscuits but ‘insists that they be a certain temperature,’ using a warming pan to ensure they are not too hot, not too cold but just right.