Queen Elizabeth is a woman of curious character and boasts a host of eccentricities, but one of her most unusual habits is the way she chows down on a banana.
Naturally, when most of us eat a banana it’s like feeding time at the trough. There’s no graceful way to eat this peculiar shaped and yellow fruit, but according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, the Queen does her regal best when eating a banana not to make it look like too much of a mouthful.
The Express reports that the former Buckingham Palace cook has revealed that the Queen enjoys chopping the banana into tiny small pieces before attacking them with gusto, albeit with a knife and fork.
It’s an eating quirk that not many of the Queen’s fans will be familiar with, but apparently, Her Royal Highness eats bananas in this way to avoid “munching like a monkey.”
She prefers not to peel bananas as well. Instead, she chops off both the top and bottom of the fruit before using a sharp knife to slice off the skin lengthways.
Queen Elizabeth’s bizarre eating habits are revealed in McGrady’s new book called, ‘Eating Royalty,’ which is all about the Head of State’s unusual catering and dietary requests.
As well as having her favorite foods, Her Majesty makes no bones about what she loathes with a passion. Pasta, potatoes, and garlic are all banned from the royal household.
As with vampires, garlic is a big no-go for the Queen. Which is tricky because Prince Philip absolutely adores the stuff. Yet he’s only allowed to eat it when the Queen is not at Buckingham Palace.
McGrady writes, “We could never serve garlic to the Queen but Prince Philip loved it. If we were at Balmoral and she was out, we’d slather his steak in garlic. But when she was at the table, there was no garlic at all. It was seen as anti-social.”
The Queen has also forbidden spicy food from the royal table because she believes it would burden the royals with the stigma of having “bad breath.”
Telegraph reporter Gordon Rayner previously wrote on the subject of the Queen’s royal engagements that, “The Master of the Household department will be in the reconnaissance party to tell foreign chefs not to cook anything with garlic or too much spice for fear of giving the Queen bad breath.”
In his book, Mr. McGray also revealed that Her Majesty has a great love of sweet treats, especially chocolate.
Now, who was it that said, “Let them eat cake!”
