Afternoon tea in the royal households conjures up images of traditional brews served up in twee china alongside a selection of delectable sponge cakes.
While that’s not miles from the truth, former royal butler Grant Harrold has debunked the myth that all tea times are the same in different households. While King Charles favours tradition, the Prince and Princess of Wales have taken a more “informal” approach to entertaining guests.
In an interview with Coffee Friend, Grant explained: “If you’re being entertained in the presence of the Royal family or at one of their homes, it’s most likely you will drink out of a teacup and saucer,” so far, tradition reigns supreme.
However, there are certain members of the royal family who have tweaked the rules to their preference. “But it depends on which royals are present. If you’re in the kitchen with Princess Anne or Kate and William during a less formal visit, you can be sure you’ll be given a mug.
“But if you’re with the King and Queen, and it’s more of an occasion, you’ll probably be served tea or coffee in a cup and saucer or a demi cup,” he added.
With coffee and tea served to multiple people six times a day, starting from 7.30am and finishing at 10.30pm, that could offer up an endless cycle of cleaning for the staff. To tackle this, Grant said etiquette dictates that you use the same cup, unless you’re switching drinks.
© Getty Images“They’ll likely take your cup away, give it a quick wash, and return it so you can drink from the same one. But if you’re having a pot of tea, and you’ve finished your cup, it will just be filled up again.
© Getty Images“They won’t be washing it straight after you’ve finished one cup of tea with a teapot in front of you. It would only be washed if you changed from tea to coffee. It isn’t bad etiquette to use the same cup unless you change the type of drink,” he said.
Royal drinks revealed
Over the years, how the royals choose to take their tea has slowly come to light. For example, Grant said on BBC Three’s show Miss Holland that the late Queen Elizabeth II was a fan of Assam and Earl Grey, pouring the tea first, followed by the milk.
© Sussex royalMeanwhile, when royals embark on daily engagements, they inadvertently reveal their habits. Meghan Markle declined an offer of tea in favour of a mint tea while pregnant with baby Archie in January 2019, while Kate enjoyed a very normal brew during a visit to the Ark Open Farm in 2020.
A member of the Kilcooley Women’s Centre stated on X, formerly Twitter: “Just like us little bit of milk…. so down to earth we were enchanted.”
In the Prince and Princess of Wales’ household, we imagine certain sweet treats make an appearance more often than others. William notoriously loved his late grandmother’s chocolate biscuit cake so much that he had it as part of his wedding cake in 2011, and Kate counts sticky toffee pudding among her favourite foods.
Read the full article here
