What Food Is Served At Royal Weddings?

Many couples go all out on their wedding breakfasts, but what does the menu look like when royals are tying the knot? We’ve done some digging to find out what was served at the weddings of the modern British royal family, from the late Queen Elizabeth II’s partridge casserole to bowl food for Harry and Meghan’s day.

What Are The Royal Wedding Food Traditions?

Historically, royal wedding banquets were lavish affairs designed to showcase wealth, often involving exotic ingredients. Henry VIII’s first wedding, for instance, included a three-day banquet with a roasted swan centrepiece, while the guests of King George V and Princess Mary were served a sumptuous 17-course feast.

Over the years menus have evolved and now tend to be less garish, bringing in personal touches and incorporating local, seasonal produce. However, naturally they are still luxurious, and many royal couples choose to uphold traditions, like including dishes named after themselves, and serving French-inspired fare.

Royal Wedding Menus From Recent History

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

When the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip tied the knot in 1947, post-war Britain was still rationing food. Yet chefs managed to pull together a decadent feast for the grand event (helped by some donations), beginning with ‘Filet de Sole Mountbatten’ (sole fillet) – a nod to Philip’s family name – followed by a partridge casserole, served with salad, green beans and pommes noisette.

For the sweet course, guests were served ‘Bombe Glacée Princesse Elizabeth’, an ice cream dish with fresh strawberries – a favourite of the Queen, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady. ‘She was happy to have strawberries four or five days a week if they were from the Balmoral gardens and they were in season,’ he said. It seems an exception was made for her wedding day, though, as the Queen married Philip in November. 

The cake was a work of art: a four-tiered fruit cake which weighed over 500 pounds, piped in royal white icing and cut using a sword.

(c) Annie Spratt, Unsplash

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Nowadays, King Charles follows a vegetable-rich, simple and seasonal diet, but when it came to marrying Princess Diana the menu was much more lavish. The wedding, which took place on 29 July 1981, began with a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by a reception at Buckingham Palace attended by 120 guests. 

In line with royal tradition, all dishes were French-influenced. However, according to food writer and historian Angela Clutton, it was ‘a distinctly simpler menu with fewer courses than there would have been for earlier generations’. The meal began with a quenelle of brill (a fish dumpling in lobster sauce), followed by a dish named after Diana: ‘Supreme de Volaille Princess de Galles’, which saw chicken breast stuffed with lamb mousse, then wrapped in brioche, served with sides of fava beans, cream of corn and new potatoes. 

Dessert was strawberries with clotted cream, as well as a fruitcake laced with rum, designed by David Avery. The baker has said he will never reveal the recipe, but we do know it included five tiers, and was decorated with flowers and Diana and Charles’ initials. 

Prince William and Kate Middleton

After exchanging vows at Westminster Abbey, Prince William and Kate Middleton headed to Buckingham Palace for their wedding meal. The royal couple and their 600 guests enjoyed a traditional three-course meal, beginning with a starter of marinated South Uist salmon, Lyme Bay crab and wild Hebridean langoustines and fresh herb salad. This was followed by a main of organic lamb with spring vegetables from Highgrove, alongside English asparagus and Jersey Royal potatoes. 

For pudding, guests were given a choice of three desserts: Berkshire honey ice cream, sherry trifle and chocolate parfait. Hopefully they still had some space for some wedding cake though – not just Fiona Cairns’ eight-tiered masterpiece, but also a chocolate biscuit cake created by McVities, a nod to William’s childhood favourite. All dishes were paired with wines, with coffee and fresh mint tea served after dessert. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day (c) Jane Barlow/PA Images Alamy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Harry and Meghan veered away from tradition in a number of ways at their wedding – including their food choices. The pair swerved a formal, sit-down affair for canapes and bowl food, designed for guests to enjoy while standing and mingling. After introductory nibbles like heritage tomato and basil tartare, and Scottish langoustines wrapped in smoked salmon, guests were served bowls including pea and mint risotto, free range chicken with morel mushrooms, and slow-roasted Windsor pork belly. Dessert also followed a canape-style format, with options including champagne and pistachio maracons, and miniature rhubarb crumble tartlets. 

Hackney baker Claire Ptak made the cake – an elderflower and buttercream number – while  Pol Roger provided the champagne.