Princess Anne Has a Pretty Unusual Food Preference, According to a Former Royal Footman

The British royals definitely don't lead a normal life, but when it comes to their food preferences, they're not exactly the most adventurous.

The Queen, for instance, likes toast with marmalade and plain fresh fish.

But her only daughter brings a little intrigue into the fold, with a truly bizarre food preference.

"Princess Anne was lovely," former royal footman Steven Kaye recalls in a Q&A with Slingo (opens in new tab), before launching into a story that sets the Princess Royal apart in his mind (and yours, forever).

"A funny story for you: Once the chefs had cleaned up in the kitchen, you’d go and get things for breakfast and there would always be a bunch of bananas literally on the side that were black, they were left to rot, they were never put away in the fridge," Kaye says.

You see where this is going. "I remember asking who they were for and it turns out the Princess Royal only eats black bananas—the royal chef had strict instructions to serve them overripe," Kaye concludes.

Princess Anne... What? Why?

Anyway, I thought this was amusing, and thought you might enjoy it too.

If you'd like another story, here's one that Kaye shared about the Queen forgetting her manners during a hunting lunch.

"The Queen walks in, she has a pheasant in one hand and a gun in the other, she puts them in the corner, puts the dogs in this pen and I’ve made her a gin and dubonnet—it’s one part gin, two parts dubonnet and an ice and a slice, she’d always have one of those at five o’clock—and what I found interesting is that she sat with her elbows on the table as she was eating. I just didn’t expect that," Kaye recalls.

"You’ve always had that etiquette rule, 'elbows off the table,' but if it’s good enough for the Queen, then it’s good enough for all of us. I think it’s her way of making her guests feel relaxed. She’d always sit there and pick at the food with her elbows on the table. But she would never do that at a state banquet, obviously." Phew!