Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis' untraditional new dinner rule
The Prince of Wales grew up following strict royal rules around dinner time, but it seems unlikely he has enforced them with his own three kids.
For formal events such as Christmas, Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were not permitted to dine with the adults and instead had their own kids' table in what former royal chef Darren McGrady described as a "Victorian" approach.
The chef, who worked for both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and Princess Diana, explained to HELLO!: "The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table.
"So for the Queen there was never a case of putting a high chair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food.
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"It was Victorian. The children's place was in the nursery and Nanny would take care of them. It's your modern-day Downton Abbey."
This could have lasted until they were teenagers, with Darren admitting they were encouraged to expand their eating habits by their nanny.
"The Royal nursery wasn't just for educating the minds of the young royals but educating their palates, too. Nanny always had control of the menu and made sure they ate balanced meals that included not only lots of healthy vegetables but introduced them to new grown-up dishes too," Darren said.
Even when they were not at formal events, he said he would often cook kids' meals such as pizza and cottage pie and peas for the young royals while Princess Diana would have stuffed bell peppers and poached chicken.
Meanwhile, William has made several comments about cooking and eating with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Not only does William's wife Kate love to make homemade pizza, pasta and curry with the kids, but William also joked to community chef Charlie Farrally at the PEEK Project that the success of his family meals depends very much on "what's on the table".
"You'll know yourself, the hardest time is dinner time," Charlie said, and William laughed and replied: "It depends what's on the table. If parents put something on that children love, dinner time goes very well. But if you put something on the table they don't want, that's another ball game."
Having said that, both William and Kate have suggested their children enjoy a healthy and balanced diet with olives and fresh peas among their favourite snacks, while fruit and cereal are staples on the breakfast menu.
This would mean that they would be more than capable of ditching the late Queen Elizabeth's tradition and joining King Charles and other royals at formal dinners.
Plus, King Charles is known for his more laid-back approach. Ahead of Easter in 2023, royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun: "The Queen always said until they could hold a knife and fork properly they could not eat at the table, but Charles might have relaxed that rule a bit."
