A former royal chef who worked closely with Princess Diana has said he is “glad” she isn’t here to witness the breakdown of the once-close relationship between her sons, Princes William and Harry.
Darren McGrady, who spent 11 years cooking for the Royal Family at Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, reflected on the brothers’ fractured relationship in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
“I cooked for them as young boys, I held Prince Harry as a baby while Princess Diana was eating cereals in the kitchen at Windsor Castle and watched them grow up,” he said.
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Princess Diana chef says he’s ‘glad’ she isn’t here to see William and Harry’s feud
|GETTY
“They literally were blood brothers. But now I don’t know what’s going on. I’m really glad Princess Di’s not here to see it.”
He added: “I think there’s too much water under the bridge now, and I think that relationship’s gone sadly.”
McGrady, who now lives in Texas, recalled fond memories of the boys growing up, including playful moments in the kitchen.
“They used to play hide and seek in the kitchen. I remember one Christmas they had water guns and got the whole staff — it was mayhem,” he said.
Darren McGrady was personal chef to Princess Diana
|PA
He also remembered a young Harry trying to sneak pizza onto the dinner menu. “I came back one evening — the nanny insisted on the boys eating healthy, she wanted them to have roast chicken, vegetables and potatoes. But Harry had written a note, put it on the kitchen table, saying ‘Darren, please give William and Harry pizza for dinner tonight instead of the chicken,’ signed Jess the Nanny.”
The Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his brother has been increasingly strained since he and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry described rows between the brothers and even alleged a physical altercation took place.
McGrady also spoke about some of his most memorable moments working for the Royal Family, including sailing on the Royal Yacht Britannia with Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince Harry and Prince William have had a strained relationship since Harry moved to California. | PALATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Prince Harry wrote a tell-all memoir called Spare in January 2023
| PA“There was a huge fleet of ships, boats around us honking horns and jetting water, Royal Marines band on the top deck playing 'A Life on the Ocean Wave,' and me in the royal galley making a soufflé for the Queen and her guest — President Reagan, President Ford, and General Schwarzkopf.”
He added that his first voyage aboard the yacht had been for the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Landings — “a real humbling trip.”
Elsewhere in the video, he revealed that King Charles rarely eats lunch. “He’s too busy,” McGrady claimed, though he said the monarch occasionally enjoys packed sandwiches while walking at Balmoral.
The chef also opened up about Princess Diana’s favourite meals for her sons. “They were royal princes, but they still had children’s palettes,” he said, revealing that Spaghetti Bolognese — or “Spaggy Bol” — was always a firm favourite.