It's been a long-standing debate in British culture, but Prince William has finally revealed where the royals stand on the correct way to eat a scone.
Known for their penchant for afternoon tea and their elaborate garden parties, the British royals are no strangers to the baked good. While it was previously believed that they prepared their scones by cutting them in half and serving them with jam first, topped with clotted cream, the Prince of Wales has debunked this myth.
During an appearance on Heart HM with Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston, William candidly discussed everything from his wife Kate's cancer battle to his children's school routine. Amid the confessions, William revealed that, despite holding the title of the Duke of Cornwall, he does not follow the Cornish scone method.
Stating they were putting William "to the test," Amanda said: "I'm going to tell you what I do first. I put the clotted cream on first, everyone in Devon is cheering. And then I put the jam on the top. I do that because I think having cream on first is more grippy than jam."
When asked his opinion, King Charles' son replied that he follows the lesson he learnt from his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. "I love that I'm the authority on scones. I can only tell you what I learned from my grandmother, and she would definitely, she would have the cream on first," he said, which Amanda noted is the Devonian way.
© Getty ImagesQuick to avoid sparking further debate, William added: "Tastes delicious either way."
Conflicting information
This comes years after former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the Queen at Buckingham Palace for 11 years, revealed that he witnessed the opposite behind closed doors.
© Getty ImagesDarren wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) page back in 2018: "Jam first or clotted cream first? Jam first at Buckingham Palace garden parties!"
The same year, King Charles hinted that he also followed the jam first rule during a visit to the Royal Cornwall Show. Noticing a young boy eating a scone the Devonian way, he asked: "Have you got that the right way round?"
Royal recipe
© Getty ImagesRegardless of how you serve them, the royal pastry chefs allowed fans to replicate the decadent fruit scones eaten by the likes of Prince William.
They posted: "Every year at Garden Parties across The Royal Residences, over 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake are consumed! The Royal Pastry Chefs are happy to share their recipe for fruit scones, which traditionally would be served at Buckingham Palace every summer."
Their recipe included buttermilk and sultanas, which they would cover in hot water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
