Foods Royal Babies Can Eat—and Some They Can’t
Updated: Mar. 29, 2019
Since they live like royalty, you should also expect them to eat like royalty, no matter how young.
Royal baby no-no’s
Royal babies eat like, well…royalty. From the second they enter the world, their diets are monitored to ensure that they are eating the best foods that will help them grow into strong, healthy kids. Curious about their diet? Royal chefs and other palace staff have given the public a look into what foods royal babies can and cannot eat—but it’ll be a while before they get to try the dinner dish the royal family loves.
Breastmilk
Just like all babies, royal babies typically start off on a diet of breastmilk. However, up until Queen Elizabeth II, royals hired wet nurses to breastfeed their babies. It’s been reported that Queen Elizabeth apparently breastfed Prince Charles while Princess Diana insisted on nursing William and Harry herself. Kate Middleton also breastfed all three of her children, and Meghan Markle is expected to do the same.
The mothers have strict diets too
While breastfeeding their babies, royal mothers have to watch their diet as well so that nothing alters the flavour of the milk they are giving to their children. Strong alcohol, spices, and garlic are all off limits. They have to stick to a “bland” diet. The Queen herself also keeps to a strict diet—if you’re lucky enough to eat dinner with the Queen, you must follow these two rules.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Once the royal babies are old enough to start eating solid foods, they are introduced to pureed fruits and vegetables straight from the Queen’s garden. Former royal chef, Darren McGrady, told TODAY.com that he “pureed the princes’ (William and Harry) first meals of steamed apples and pears from the Queen’s Sandringham country retreat.” After pureeing, he would strain them twice to make sure there were no lumps that the babies could choke on.
Pureed meat
Delicious, right? As the baby gets older, different types of meat will be introduced in their diet to expand their palate. Chefs puree chicken, lamb, or beef and mix it with vegetables such as carrots, peas, or cauliflower. Former royal chef Carolyn Robb told Racked that the meat typically comes from animals raised on royal grounds and is organic.
They stay away from packaged foods
With an abundance of royal chefs—and a few even dedicated solely to the royal babies—there really is no need for them to eat packaged foods. In his over 15 years working as a royal chef, McGrady never saw packaged food given to any royal baby. However, Camilla was seen accepting Plum baby food for Prince William and Duchess Kate’s children. Whether the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge actually fed it to their kids is unknown.
As they get older, royal babies have a little more say in what they get to eat. Obviously, their parents and nannies will make sure they are getting their fruits and veggies in every day. Princess Charlotte reportedly loves olives and one of her and George’s favourite dinners is “cheesy pasta.” They even like to help cook it!
Check out more real stories from former staff on what it’s like working for the royal family.
