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Princess Eugenie looks surprised© Max Mumby/Indigo

How Princess Eugenie broke the late Queen's golden rule

Princess Eugenie's late grandmother forbid these things in the palace kitchens

Georgia Brown
Senior Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
November 26, 2023
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Princess Eugenie made a rare appearance on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware this week. 

The Princess, 33, made several surprising revelations about royal life in the candid chat, including how the royal family order Deliveroo to Kensington Palace, and her thoughts on waiting to send her sons August and Ernest to boarding school.

WATCH: Princess Eugenie reveals how royals order takeaways to the palace

In one particularly insightful moment, the mother-of-two confirmed a rather peculiar royal food rule - that the royal family are forbidden from eating certain types of foods.

"We do one [Waitrose] order every week and everyone piles on everything they can on Sunday night and it comes on Monday morning. Sundays are quite sad looking at my fridge," said Eugenie. 

Princess Eugenie in an emerald dress© Dave Benett
Princess Eugenie revealed the royal family never eat garlic or onion

When asked what was in her Waitrose order, Princess Eugenie revealed: "Nothing interesting really. Chicken, sausages, always. Potatoes, onion, garlic," lifting the lid on her rule-breaking food order. 

The royal then shared that she's "not allowed" to have onion and garlic at her parents' Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew's house, confirming that they fear "the breath" and, like many royals, avoid the pungent foods.

Queen Camilla once revealed on Australian MasterChef that when on official engagements, nothing with too much garlic is ever served: "Garlic is a no-no... You always have to lay off the garlic." 

Princess Eugenie wearing orange dress at Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service© Getty
The Princess admitted she's turned a blind eye to the food 'rule'

This was confirmed by former royal chef Darren McGrady, who revealed that palace chefs were forbidden by Her Late Majesty the Queen from serving food containing too much onion or garlic. 

Despite being a member of the royal family, Princess Eugenie is not a working royal, so her penchant for bulbs doesn't affect her nearly as much as senior family members who have to take part in several public engagements throughout the year. 

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank attend the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25, 2022 in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank share two sons together

The royal no doubt got her taste for the flavoursome vegetables when honing her culinary skills at Leiths School of Food and Wine, founded by Great British Bake Off star Prue Leith. 

"I did a cooking course at Leiths," said Eugenie on the podcast, adding that she "learned how to julienne and make everything and sweat onions."

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She confirmed that despite her culinary education, she has become a self-proclaimed "one pot girl," and loves nothing more than the ease of cooking one pot meals loaded with onion and garlic.

Princess Eugenie holding August Brooksbank© Max Mumby/Indigo
Princess Eugenie revealed her son August loves to stay close to her while she's in the kitchen

The culinary school is situated in West London and claims on its website to be "where professionals in the making, home cooks and young people discover their culinary potential". You'd hope so; a two-week 'Introduction to Professional Cooking' course costs around £1,900.

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