A lot of things have changed in King Charles’ life ever since he acceded to the throne. However, one thing that remains unchanged is his food habits – particularly his royal breakfast which hasn’t changed in years.
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King’s Royal Breakfast
According to My London, the Royal staff has learned and grown accustomed to the King’s peculiar ways of eating and meal habits. Royal author Christopher Andersen writes about the monarch and his quirks in his new book – The King: The Life of Charles III.
Talking about his breakfast habits, the author explains how he wants very particular items in his breakfast and how his cutlery should be laid out. Reportedly, the king expects three ‘chilled balls of butter’ on his breakfast table every morning.
Along with that, his toast needs to be brought to him on a silver rack rather than a plate and assorted jams, jellies, marmalades and honey should be served on a separate silver tray. Additionally, the monarch’s breakfast tray should ‘contain a cup and saucer to the right with a silver spoon pointing outward at an angle of five o’clock.’
Plum Ritual
King Charles’ breakfast rituals are so unusual that even his former Royal chef Darren McGrady once shared how he has a very ‘weird’ plum ritual. The King is fond of eating plums for breakfast and has a unique way of eating them.
He would want the Royal staff to serve him two plums every day in a bowl and he would eat only one of them and save one for later. The former Royal chef confirmed:
The instruction was to put two plums and a little juice into the bowl and send it into him for breakfast.
I'd send in two plums and he would take one so it would come back out after breakfast, and I'd put the other plum back into the jar and save it.
And one morning when the chef tried to send only one plum since the monarch only ever ate one, he was surprised with an unusual request. He added:
One morning I thought, 'Okay, he only eats one for breakfast,' so I only put one plum into the bowl and sent it out into the dining room.
The attending (waiter) came through and said, 'Can His Royal Highness have two please?' So I had to keep sending two in every morning.
Source Used
My London: Royal Family: King Charles’ odd breakfast requirements from three ‘chilled balls of butter’ to spoons being placed at a specific angle