Former Royal Staffer Reveals the Only Royal Who Used a Tanning Bed and How the Family Coped With Heatwaves
Some people may have a few ideas about how the royals beat the heat and if their diets change in the summer compared to other times of the year. Well, now someone who used to cook for members of the family is answering that and revealing which royal used a tanning bed.
Darren McGrady was Queen Elizabeth II‘s personal chef at Buckingham Palace for more than a decade before he was transferred to Kensington Palace in 1993, becoming Princess Diana’s chef at Kensington Palace. He cooked for the princess and her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Diana’s death in 1997.
Speaking on behalf of Smooth Spins Casino, Stanton told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “I spent 11 years cooking for the (late) queen and traveling the world with her and for the royal family in general. They live by the seasons, so that meant as we traveled to the different houses, whether we were in Sandringham in January, they were having heavy stews and braises; then, going into the summer and going to Balmoral for 12 weeks, it was more summer foods and BBQs.
“They’d also have lots of soft fruits during the summer. Scotland in general has some of the most incredible fruits, like strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and blackcurrants. When we were at Balmoral, the gardens supplied all of the food, pretty much.”
The former chef added, “In summer, they had ice cream every night. It was usually made with fresh strawberries and raspberries from the gardens. It was mainly healthy eating and much lighter foods during summer, so lots of salads and fish. It was also about keeping them hydrated. We always had lots of lemon refresher or lemon juice on hand, like fresh lemonade.”
McGrady also shared that Princess Diana is the only royal who used a tanning bed, recalling, “It’s funny because it was only the staff and Princess Diana who would use it. Back in the day, everybody thought sunbeds were fine. My claim to fame is that she’d come into the kitchen and say, ‘Darren, go and warm up the sunbed. I need to go on it and need a tan.’ That was the sign for me to go on the sunbed for 30 minutes, then get off and clean it down. She’d go on the sunbed after me, and I’d then go and get her dinner or lunch ready.”
