The most loyal of royal watchers will know that King Charles and Queen Camilla have their favourites when it comes to food, and they tend to stick to what they like.
Fortunately for the royal couple’s staff, it seems that they know exactly what the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II likes the most, and he used to receive a regular birthday gift.
Former royal butler Grant Harrold spoke to coffee retailer Coffee Friend about the royal family’s coffee habits, but also revealed some details about what they would take with their tea and coffee.
When asked if they had biscuits on the side, Grant said: “Absolutely! Whenever coffee or tea was ordered, biscuits were always there if guests wanted one. Not so much if it was afternoon tea.”
On the family’s preferences, he shared that the late Queen’s “favourite sweet treat” was a chocolate biscuit cake, but King Charles’ cookie of choice is a little more surprising.
“The King’s favourite biscuit is a Bath Oliver biscuit,” Grant revealed. “I used to give him a packet for his birthday!”
King Charles isn’t a huge coffee person
It also seems that, while Queen Camilla, Prince William and Prince Harry can’t live without a cup of coffee, King Charles, much like his parents, is more of a tea lover.
“The late Queen, Prince Philip, and King Charles definitely prefer a cup of tea over coffee,” the former royal butler stated. “They were tea lovers to the very end.
“They probably had coffee from time to time, but tea was their go-to. The only time I saw the Queen having a freshly brewed cup of coffee was after an event in the evening time.”
As always, the family put etiquette first, as it appears that they prefer to have their coffee served in a more traditional way.
“I wouldn’t say they wouldn’t have coffee in a mug,” Grant said, “but they would probably have it in a demi cup instead of a mug after dinner. During the day, they would have a teacup with a saucer.”
He continued: “They were always offered milk and sugar after the coffee was poured. That is the correct etiquette for drinking coffee.”
However, there’s one thing that King Charles does very differently, according to the former royal butler: “The King has famously said he prefers to have honey instead of sugar, so he would opt for that instead. It actually isn’t too bad!”
