King Charles has reportedly overseen a raft of changes for the Royal Family’s Christmas at Sandringham from new guests to what’s on the menu. In a sweeping Christmas overhaul by the King, one prominent adjustment involves the banning of foie gras, a controversial dish crafted by forcibly feeding ducks to enlarge their livers, reported The Mirror.
This practice, widely criticised by animal rights activists, has prompted a campaign seeking to ban the delicacy.
Traditionally, the Royal Family indulged in this dish on Christmas Day, as former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed that Harrods supplied them annually with foie gras for their Christmas buffet.
It is well known that the King backs many animal rights causes and sustainable living, so that particular dish is no longer on the menu in any of the palaces and will be nowhere near Sandringham, where the royal family flock to celebrate the festive period.
The King is now hosting his second Christmas at the Norfolk estate, following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.
While Charles ensures that his cherished mother’s influence continues to resonate within the family, he is also determined to make a distinct mark on this significant family gathering.
Renowned for his inclination towards organic produce, it is anticipated that the Royal Family’s customary Christmas dinner will exclusively feature such ingredients.
At a UN climate summit in 2021, he said in a speech: “I haven’t eaten meat and fish on two days a week and I don’t eat dairy products on one day a week.”
Another tradition, dating from the Victorian era, and believed to have been brought over to Britain by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, was placing a coin into the Christmas pudding.
That has long been banned from the Royal Family’s Christmas dinner, even though it is believed that whoever gets it in their portion will receive good luck in the year to come.
Mr McGrady told the BBC: “No, we never did that! Ever since the Queen Mother choked on a fish bone that time… we were too nervous to do that.”
Mr McGrady previously added: “The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table. So for the Queen, there was never a case of putting a high chair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food. It was Victorian. The children’s place was in the nursery and Nanny would take care of them. It’s your modern-day Downton Abbey.”
While most of the Royal Family will be getting together to celebrate Christmas, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will miss out on the celebrations following a strained year of royal relations in the wake of his bombshell memoir and the couple’s Netflix series.
This year for the first time Queen Camilla’s children and grandchildren will be part of the royal party. Although Charles and Camilla have been married since 2005, in previous years her family members did not join in the festivities at Sandringham as they are not members of the royal household.
The new Queen has two children, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker-Bowles, and five grandchildren Lola, Eliza, Freddy, Gus and Louis.
