Surprising reason royal family 'wouldn't visit' Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday
The late monarch celebrated two birthdays every year, just like King Charles does now
It’s no secret that the royal family has many of their own strict rules and traditions, and one surprising royal convention was not visiting Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday.
Speaking exclusively to Heart Bingo, former royal chef Darren McGrady explained that the late monarch didn’t want a fuss on her own birthday.
“When I joined the royal family, I thought birthdays would be over the top and elaborate,” he said. “But in fact, it was completely the opposite. The late queen saw birthdays as just another day.”
Why royal family ‘didn’t visit’ Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday
While her relatives would call the queen to send their birthday wishes, they didn’t visit with gifts or balloons.
The reason? “She had a busy day and wanted to get on with her duties,” said Darren, who spent 15 years cooking for the royals.
Royal family’s birthday traditions
The chef’s comments came ahead of Princess Beatrice’s birthday on Friday (August 8), with the royal turning 37.
He suggested that she could continue a tradition that’s been part of the family for over a century with her cake, too.
She had a busy day and wanted to get on with her duties.
He explained that each member of the family would get a birthday cake sent up with their afternoon tea.
It would always be a chocolate genoise cake with chocolate ganache.
“It just said ‘Happy Birthday, ‘” he said. “There was never anything else written on there. The recipe dates back to Queen Victoria’s chef. It was the same family recipe used again and again and again. Every member of the royal family would have the same one.
“It was good, apart from on Christmas Day. In the early days, when everyone used to be at Windsor Castle, all the aunts and uncles. Princess Alexandra’s birthday was December 25, Christmas Day – so along with all the chocolates we would send up, we would send a birthday cake too.”
He shared that the late queen got two a year: one in April for her actual birthday, and one in June for her official birthday. King Charles, like his mother used to, celebrates two birthdays too.
Princess Diana’s hilarious birthday cake for Prince William
When Darren moved to cook for Princess Diana, things became more relaxed.
“We didn’t do the chocolate cake anymore,” he revealed. “I remember one of Prince William’s birthday cakes – I came into work and opened my refrigerator, and there was a large box in there. I opened it, wondering who was using my refrigerator, and there was a large pair of women’s boobs. It was the cake Diana had bought for William. She’d thought he’d find this funny. She loved embarrassing William, and it was a fantastic gift for him. He loved it, it went down really well.”
He described Diana as a “people pleaser” who “went out of her way” for others. Darren added: “Whether it was buying a gift and wrapping it personally, and handing it over with a handwritten note – she always did that with birthday gifts. She did that with so many friends, including in the kitchen with me.
“Every year on my birthday, she would come through with a beautiful gift. Usually, it was a Hermes tie. It was really, really nice. I have about seven of them. She was incredible like that; she always thought about friends. For the Princess and the boys, birthdays were about spending time together.
“She made sure that while they had the royal side with all the pomp and pageantry with Charles, they also got the ‘normal’ life with her. That meant a Saturday night treat was sitting in front of the television, eating hamburgers and chips. That was a special treat for them.”
So sweet!
Read more: Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s innocent question after Queen Elizabeth II’s death
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