Queen Elizabeth's bizarre royal rule is something Princess Eugenie can't even break at her parents' house, though she loves to rebel against it at home.
As a non-working royal Princess Eugenie doesn’t have to abide by many of the protocols that working royals like Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales do. Several of these royal rules were followed particularly strictly during the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign, like her preference for royal women not wearing bright nail varnish. However, Queen Elizabeth’s bizarre royal rule when it comes to mealtimes is something Princess Eugenie still can’t break at her parents’ house.
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew live at the Royal Lodge and Princess Eugenie reportedly can’t eat some of her favourite foods with them. Opening up on the Table Manners podcast, Princess Eugenie shared that she’s not “allowed” to eat garlic or onion-based dishes at her parents’
As per Hello!, Princess Eugenie was asked by hosts Jessie and Lennie Ware what was in her shopping order and after describing it as “nothing interesting”, she continued, “Chicken, sausages, always. Potatoes, onion, garlic.”
She also revealed her love of making “one-pot” meals, often featuring chicken, tomatoes, garlic and onions all together. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that she gets to eat with her parents as she reportedly explained that she’s actually “not allowed” to have either garlic or onion at Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew’s thanks to Queen Elizabeth’s bizarre rule.
Her parents supposedly have concerns about “the breath” they could get after eating these pungent ingredients. This is something that is said to have inspired Queen Elizabeth’s ban on garlic being served to her.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady claimed to MailOnline in 2016 that Her Majesty was “Victorian” when it came to her views on garlic though Prince Philip was apparently a big fan of it.
He alleged, “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.”
“She was very Victorian and believed when she was brought up that you don’t eat garlic - because if you were holding an audience the next day, you didn’t want to be breathing garlic,” Darren added, “It was seen as anti-social.”
This view seems to be shared by Prince Andrew and Sarah and Queen Elizabeth’s bizarre rule banning garlic has continued to be upheld by some royals to this day.
Queen Camilla also steers clear of garlic in her meals too and discussed this royal tradition on MasterChef Australia in 2018.
"I hate to say this, but garlic. Garlic is a no-no,” she declared and when asked whether it was discouraged because of the social commitments that come with being royal, she replied, "Yes, exactly. So you always have to lay off the garlic."
Princess Eugenie’s podcast remarks indicate that avoiding garlic is something that isn’t just restricted to working royals, though it’s likely more important for the senior members of the Royal Family. Whilst she might not get to eat garlic or onion at her parents' house, Princess Eugenie clearly enjoys breaking this royal rule in her own home.
