What is Queen Camilla's favorite food?

December 15, 2025 •

3 min read

According to her son, Tom Parker Bowles, Queen Camilla is partial to simple, comforting meals, blending classic British dishes with organic produce from her garden. This reveals a palate that is both traditional and health-conscious, helping to answer the question, "What is Queen Camilla's favorite food?".

Quick Summary

Queen Camilla's diet features a mix of wholesome, organic fare and classic British comfort foods like fish and chips and beans on toast. She prioritizes fresh, seasonal produce, much of it grown on her estates.

Key Points

Comfort Food Favourites: Queen Camilla loves traditional British comfort foods, including freshly cooked fish and chips and Heinz baked beans on toast.
Homegrown Produce: A keen gardener, she enjoys organic, seasonal produce directly from the garden, such as raw peas and white peaches.
A Sweet Indulgence: Her ideal dessert is bitter chocolate ice cream with berries and clotted cream, paired with a glass of red claret.
Simple Cooking: When not dining formally, Camilla often cooks simple dishes for herself, like fish en papillote with butter and herbs.
Dietary Dislikes: She avoids pungent flavors like chili and garlic, and also dislikes most types of offal, with the exception of liver.
Balanced Approach: Her diet balances wholesome, healthy eating with occasional, comforting indulgences, and she often has a light lunch or skips it altogether due to a busy schedule.

A Royal Palate for Simple Pleasures

Queen Camilla's dining habits offer a fascinating glimpse into the less formal side of royal life, characterized by a preference for simple, home-cooked dishes over elaborate state banquet fare. While she has access to the world's finest chefs, Her Majesty has openly expressed her love for straightforward, traditional meals, a preference that reflects her British roots. Her approach to food is refreshingly relatable, blending healthy, organic options with cherished comfort classics.

The Morning Meal and Light Lunches

Queen Camilla starts her day with a hearty, protein-rich breakfast, often including cheesy baked eggs or scrambled eggs. This is a practical choice, as both she and King Charles often skip lunch due to their busy schedules. When lunch is taken, it's typically a light affair, such as a bowl of homemade chicken broth in winter or smoked salmon. She has also developed a taste for avocados, which she now eats regularly after initially disliking them.

Embracing British Comfort Classics

For dinner, Queen Camilla gravitates towards quintessentially British comfort foods. Her son, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, has provided much insight into his mother's culinary affections. She is a noted fan of fish and chips, wrapped in paper, calling the smell and taste unbeatable. Another humble favourite is beans on toast, with a particular loyalty to the Heinz brand. During her children's upbringing, the family also enjoyed staple dishes like shepherd's pie and roast chicken.

Interestingly, Camilla is not averse to store-bought convenience, with her son revealing that the arrival of Chicken Kievs at Sainsbury's led to a dinner rotation that included the prepared meal frequently.

The Green-Fingered Queen

A significant part of Queen Camilla's diet is influenced by her passion for gardening, a hobby she shares with King Charles. She has often spoken about her enjoyment of eating vegetables and fruits directly from her garden, emphasizing the freshness and superior taste. This focus on homegrown, seasonal produce is a cornerstone of her and the King's healthy eating habits.

Foods from the royal gardens include:

Sweet, raw peas, eaten straight from the pod
White peaches, which she takes great pride in growing
Seasonal vegetables such as kale, carrots, courgettes, and purple sprouting broccoli
Foraged mushrooms, enjoyed with King Charles from the Balmoral estate

The Royal Sweet Tooth

While her savoury tastes lean toward the simple, her dessert preference is decadent. For her ideal "last supper," Camilla requested bitter chocolate ice cream topped with strawberries, raspberries, and generous dollops of clotted cream. This indulgence, paired with a glass (or two) of good red claret, shows a sophisticated side to her otherwise unpretentious diet.

Food Avoidances and Preferences

Queen Camilla is particular about certain ingredients. She has publicly stated she avoids strong flavors like chili and garlic. This is in contrast to her son, who enjoys spicy food. She also dislikes most offal, with the exception of good liver. This simple, clean approach to her cooking emphasizes the natural flavours of high-quality, fresh ingredients.

A Comparison of Royal Palates: Camilla vs. Charles

While they share a love for gardening and organic food, King Charles and Queen Camilla have some distinct differences in their dining habits.


Aspect	Queen Camilla	King Charles
Lunch	Prefers a light lunch, such as chicken broth or smoked salmon.	Has been known to skip lunch entirely due to a busy schedule.
Dietary Focus	Simple, home-cooked British classics and fresh produce.	Long-time advocate for organic and sustainable food.
Home-Grown Produce	Enjoys eating raw peas and peaches from the garden.	Enjoys foraging for mushrooms on the Balmoral estate.
Meal Preparation	Likes to cook simple meals for herself when at home.	Relies on royal chefs, with menus often planned weeks in advance.

Conclusion: More Than Just Beans on Toast

In conclusion, asking what is Queen Camilla's favorite food reveals a complex picture of a royal who values tradition, simplicity, and quality. Her preferences highlight a down-to-earth personality, enjoying familiar British comforts alongside the bounty of her own organic gardens. From hearty breakfasts to decadent desserts, her diet strikes a balance between the ordinary and the royal, proving that even a Queen can appreciate the simple pleasures of good food. She prefers meals that celebrate the natural flavors of fresh produce and meat, all while steering clear of overly spicy or strong seasonings. This combination of accessible favorites and high-quality, locally sourced ingredients paints a comprehensive portrait of Queen Camilla’s palate.

Inside Queen Camilla and King Charles’ Diets, According to Her Son Tom Parker Bowles

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Queen Camilla has said that when she is at home, she sometimes cooks simple meals for herself. Her specialities include cooking fish with butter and herbs in a parcel.

Queen Camilla's favorite comfort foods are fish and chips and beans on toast. Her son, Tom Parker Bowles, confirmed her love for a "proper fish and chips" and said the beans must always be Heinz.

For dessert, Queen Camilla has expressed a liking for a simple yet decadent treat: bitter chocolate ice cream with strawberries, raspberries, and lots of clotted cream.

While not publicly known for strict diet rules, Queen Camilla prioritizes organic food, often from her garden, and avoids certain strong flavors. She also has a habit of skipping lunch due to her schedule.

Queen Camilla and King Charles are keen gardeners. She enjoys eating raw peas from the pod and grows various vegetables, including kale, broccoli, carrots, and courgettes.

Queen Camilla has stated that she avoids chili and garlic. She also expressed a dislike for offal, though she makes an exception for a very good liver.

Surprisingly, her son Tom Parker Bowles has revealed that when they were younger, she and her family would occasionally enjoy prepared meals, specifically Chicken Kievs from Sainsbury's when they were introduced.

Queen Camilla is partial to a good glass of red claret, a classic pairing with her desired chocolate and berry dessert.