Coronation chicken for the 21st century: what could be King Charles’ festive food?

On the occasion of the late Queen’s coronation in 1953, a brand new dish was invented and served for the festive lunch.

Created by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rosemary Hume and food writer Constance Spry, Coronation chicken, a curry and mayonnaise cold chicken dish, has stood the test of time — primarily as a sandwich filling.

With plans for King Charles’s coronation in May in full swing, there has been speculation about what dish, if any, will be devised to celebrate the occasion.

Details of the coronation have been revealed in recent days, including ‘Big Lunch’ street parties and picnics taking place on May 7 to raise money for charity.

Contests have also been launched to get members of the public to come up with a recipe, although none are officially sponsored by the royals.

Last year, the palace encouraged chefs to come up with a recipe last year to celebrate the queen’s platinum anniversary.

Amateur baker Jemma Elvin, 31, won the contest with her lemon swiss roll and amaretti trifle, and the dessert took its place alongside Poulet Reine Elizabeth and Victoria Sponge — named after Queen Victoria — in royal food history.

And the new king certainly inherited a “foodie” status from his mother and ancestors.

A staunch supporter of organic farming and food, King Charles founded Duchy Organics in 1990, later partnering with Waitrose to sell high quality British produce.

But with a range of different dishes promoted by the king and a variety of recipes in his and the royal family’s repertoire, it’s hard to know what could be the central dish of the holiday season.

Here, FEMAIL looks at Charles III’s favorite foods to see if they provide any clues…

A MEAL WITH EGGS

King Charles has long been rumored to be a big fan of the humble boiled egg.

Last year, journalist and king expert Russell Myers revealed to Lorraine that the king’s favorite food was a “simple” boiled egg.

It was even referenced in The Crown, when Camilla Parker Bowles (played by Emerald Fannell) told a young Princess Diana, “They made the cardinal mistake of refusing to put a soft-boiled egg on it.”

But there has been debate about when to eat the breakfast staple in the day.

Broadcaster Jeremy Paxman claimed in his 2012 book On Royalty that the then Prince of Wales demands that seven eggs be cooked for him a day – he only eats one to make sure it’s cooked to perfection.

He wrote: ‘Because [Charles’] the staff were never quite sure whether the egg would have exactly the desired hardness, a series of eggs were cooked and placed in an ascending row of numbers.’

This was later denied on the Prince’s website, with a Read FAQ: ‘Did the Prince of Wales cook seven boiled eggs for his breakfast but only eat one, as claimed in Jeremy Paxman’s book On Royalty?

The answer was, ‘No, he doesn’t and never has, at breakfast or at any other time.

Meanwhile, Graham Tinsley MBE, former manager of the Welsh Culinary Team, which has hosted royal state banquets on several occasions, revealed to Hello! in September how Charles likes his eggs ‘really’.

He said the king is actually a fan of a coddled egg – which is only cooked for about two to three minutes before being shelled and served.

The King also requires a side dish for every meal, Mr Tinsley said, which must be “very precise” and served over the pre-boiled egg — before mashing it all together.

This unusual dish is unlikely to be a popular choice for coronation celebrations – although Charles’s love of eggs could certainly be handled in a different way…

A huge fan of eggs, the king even shared his own recipe to showcase the ingredient and other homegrown products.

During the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020, the then-Prince shared a step-by-step guide to making Cheesy Baked Eggs.

A video shows a Clarence House employee preparing the decadent brunch recipe, which was shared on Instagram on the occasion of the British Cheese Weekender.

Charles has been a patron of the Specialty Cheesemakers Association since 1993 — so it’s entirely possible that his festive food of choice is cheesy, too.

A SUSTAINABLE SALAD OR FRUIT DISH

Former royal chef Darren has previously said that if he cooked for him, the king would start his day with just fruit.

And despite being a “foodie,” he also added that Charles often skipped lunch and instead opted for a boiled egg for afternoon tea.

The healthy 74-year-old is also reportedly a fan of flaxseed, a nutritious superfood – which he jokingly refers to as “birdseed,” according to the Daily Star.

It is also said that he ate a late breakfast consisting of Darjeeling tea with milk and honey, and homemade bread with linseed, fresh fruit and juice.

In addition to offering a well-balanced meal high in fiber, these food choices are believed to reflect the king’s concern for the environment, as they are relatively low-impact foods in terms of carbon and habitat damage.

This means there could be a sustainable option for the picnic table during the coronation celebrations.

A TRADITIONAL PIE

The palace is keen to emphasize that the celebrations will be rooted in tradition – so what better dish to serve than one steeped in royal history.

One such dish has all but disappeared from the UK and its main ingredient has largely died out here, despite being a requirement of all royal celebrations since the Middle Ages.

Lamprey pies, extravagant multi-layered pastries filled with blood-sucking eel-like creatures, have been made by the city of Gloucester for royalty since the 12th century.

The tradition of serving it at royal feasts was dropped in 1917 during World War I, but returned for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

But with the jawless fish on the brink of extinction in the nearby River Severn, the last British lampreys were delivered in the cake made for Queen Elizabeth II’s 25th birthday in 1977.

American and Canadian jabs have since been brought in, and the Platinum Jubilee pie sent to the late Queen was scaled back to contain pork and apple.

Now the tradition continues, with documents from Gloucester City Council showing that it intends to present the new monarch with a lamprey cake on the day of his coronation.

Due to environmental concerns, it is again expected that there will be no pricks in the cake, but GloucestershireLive reports that the eel does appear in the elaborate cake box design.

While eel pie probably isn’t high on many people’s wish lists, there’s no denying that the intricate pies certainly look fit for a king.