Why Prince Harry and Diana always went to McDonald’s – and it wasn’t because of the food
MirrorPrince Harry and his brother William grew up in Kensington Palace with a team of dedicated and trusted staff around them – including a number of top chefs.
But like most kids the young royals loved going out for a McDonald’s, and in her bid to give them a ‘normal’ upbringing, their mum Princess Diana would often take them out for a delicious treat.
Former Royal Family chef Darren McGrady shared a story about a time she came into the Palace kitchen to tell him they were popping to McDonald’s.
He told Marie Claire that despite his offer to make burgers for them at home, she wasn’t interested and said there was another reason they wanted a McDonald’s instead.
He said: “I remember the Princess came into the kitchen one day and said, ‘Cancel lunch for the boys I’m taking them out, we’re going to McDonald’s.
“And I said, ‘Oh my god your royal highness, I can do that, I can do burgers.’
“And she said, ‘No, it’s the toy they want.’
“Yeah, the boys loved McDonald’s, and going out to pizza, and having potato skins—sort of the American foods. They were royal princes but had children’s palates.”
According to Diana’s former butler and close friend Paul Burrell the trio would get a McDonald’s regularly on a Saturday night – and it was part of their bizarrely ‘normal’ routine.
They would order Big Macs and chips. He told the Mirror: “They would then come home and sit on a giant stuffed hippopotamus Diana had in front of the TV and watch Blind Date.
Mr Burrell said: “The three of them would nip to McDonald’s for a Big Mac and fries before coming back to watch Blind Date. All three of them would squat on this massive, stuffed hippopotamus Diana had in her sitting room.
“They loved Blind Date and I’d hear them all screaming things like “Oh don’t pick him!” and “Lorra, lorra fun”.”
Diana ripped up the Royal Family rulebook when it came to raising William and Harry.
Before her, royal children were mainly raised by Palace staff including a team of dedicated nannies.
The Queen wasn’t particularly involved in raising her children, and was often away for a months at a time when they were young.
But after the birth of Princes William and Harry, Diana changed all this with her hands-on approach.
Even though she was only 21 when she became a mum, she was determined to do a lot of the day-to-day child care and refused to leave her boys at home when she went away on Royal Tours, taking them with her instead.
But her parenting reportedly didn’t go down well with other members of the family.
