It’s no secret that the royal family has strict rules when it comes to what they can and can’t eat (The are fordidden from eating garlic, for instance). But with Meghan Markle’s due date fast approaching, we realized that we’re not entirely sure what’ll be on her wee babe’s diet. We did some state of the art research to know what to expect come late April.
Everything a Royal Baby Can and Can’t Eat (Because Yep, There Are *Rules*)
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Published Mar 11, 2019
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Breastfeeding Hasn’t Always Been The Norm
Surprise! The majority of royal babies were handed to a wet nurse in past centuries, according to a heavily researched story in The Guardian. But then Princess Diana came along and broke with the norm by breastfeeding William and Harry back in the ‘80s. The Mirror reported in 2013 that Kate breastfed Prince George, and there have been many subtle hints that she’s given all of her little highnesses the same treatment. Today, it would seem that the decision to breastfeed (or not) is left up to the royal mama. As it very well should be, obviously.
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Store-bought Baby Food = So Unacceptable
Fact: The Duchess of Cornwall publically accepted a basket of organic Plum baby food on behalf of her grandson, Prince George (Kate Middleton’s first-born son). But chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the royal family for 15 years and was responsible for Prince William and Prince Harry’s baby food, said he’s never seen any of the royal babies with packaged food. Why? Put simply, the queen’s got a fleet of 20 personal chefs. There’s no need for anything but fresh.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
Instead, Royal Babies Nosh On Homemade Fruit Purees
According to McGrady, William and Harry feasted on pureed steamed apples and pears from the queen’s very own Sandringham country house. Naturally, there was no messing around and the purees were strained multiple times so that zero choking-size lumps remained. As the kids grew older, McGrady said they progressed to eating pureed veggies and chicken.
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A Lot Of Their Diet Is Completely Homegrown
So more about those veggie and chicken purees. Appetizing, we know. Former royal family chef Carolyn Robb explained that the royal family prefers to incorporate food that’s produced and farmed by the royal estates into their diet whenever possible. Think: Milk from the cows from Highgrove, foraged mushrooms…and yep, royally raised carrots, peas, broccoli and chickens.
