The British monarchy
A former insider from the esteemed royal household is revealing why spur-of-the-moment decisions to stay at the Palace are not an option for the Duke of Sussex.
The latest episode of tension between Prince Harry and the royal enclave unfolded even before the duke’s return to Britain. It came to light that an invitation extended for Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace was later retracted.
According to the Palace, Harry missed the deadline to confirm his acceptance of the invitation. Contrarily, Harry’s representatives argue that he had indeed accepted, only for the invitation to be retracted. This led to conflicting accounts, causing Harry to seek accommodation elsewhere.
Now, someone who used to work for the royals is defending the Palace’s decision not to allow the prince to stay there at the last minute and why it would have been a logistics nightmare.
Darren McGrady was Queen Elizabeth II‘s personal chef at Buckingham Palace for more than a decade before he was transferred to Kensington Palace in 1993, becoming Princess Diana’s chef at Kensington Palace. He cooked for the princess and her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Diana’s death in 1997.
Speaking on behalf of Smooth Spins Casino, Stanton told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “It’s been reported that Harry’s not going to Buckingham Palace. It got me thinking back to when I was there cooking, and we’d get a phone call saying that Prince Charles was flying back from Highgrove to London by helicopter and he wanted lamb for lunch. We’d have to call Harrods and get them to send over a rack of lamb. They’d put it into a freezer bag in a backpack and get it sent to us by motorbike.
“Everything that the royal wanted, we had to provide. Princess Anne would decide to stay the night and would want overripe bananas, so we had to make sure we had them for her to put in her fruit bowl. We were there to cater for every single member of the family, even if it was unexpected.”
Stanton then commented on why the Duke of Sussex couldn’t just turn around at the eleventh hour and decide he wants to stay at the royal residence, explaining, “I got thinking about how Buckingham Palace is going through its major restoration — no one is there, and all the chefs, for the most part, have gone.
“It would be a major operation to suddenly, at the very last minute, bring in a team of chefs and prepare the food. It wouldn’t just be chefs, but also bringing in the maids, security, and footmen. I do see the point in what they’re saying with regards to Harry coming and staying at the Palace.”
The former royal chef also gave his take on what he thinks Princess Diana would have made of the ongoing family rift, opining, “Princess Diana would have loved to have seen William and Harry back together as friends. Will it happen? I don’t know. I was only a chef there. Would I like to see it happen? I would love it… From a personal view, I would love to see them together again.”