ComScore

Princess Diana's Former Chef on the 'Normal' Saturday Tradition She Had with William and Harry

If there's one thing we know about the British royal family, it's that they're sticklers for tradition. So it comes as no surprise that Princess Diana followed suit with her sons.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady recently revealed in an interview with Coffee Friend that the late royal and her boys, Prince William and Prince Harry, kept a fun Saturday night tradition, mainly because she wanted to ensure that they had a normal childhood.

McGrady explained, "The way Princess Diana was bringing the children into the next century—she was able to say, ‘I know they’re Royal children, but they’re normal children too.’ It wasn’t the case of having to dress for dinner or sit at the table and be served formally by butlers."

princess diana william harry
Princess Diana Archive / Stringer

He continued, “On a Saturday night, you’d see Diana sitting down in front of the TV eating dinner with her boys, it just made everything so normal."

To make these moments extra special, Diana even encouraged the boys to indulge in some of their favorite snacks, as opposed to their regular healthy meals. "Nanny always suggested that the boys have roasted chicken, green vegetables and healthy food," McGrady said. "But on a Saturday night, the boys could have pizza. The boys could have hamburgers and fried chicken, and things like that. It was a special treat. It was Diana’s way of showing them, you’re children too."

Princess Diana's parenting techniques have made quite a few headlines and become part of her long-lasting legacy. But at the heart of her efforts was the desire to raise kind, down-to-earth sons who also had the freedom to just be kids. Diana's former chief of staff, Patrick Jephson, told ABC, "She made sure that they experienced things like going to the cinema, queuing up to buy a McDonalds, going to amusement parks, those sorts of things that were experiences that they could share with their friends. It was a very difficult dilemma for Diana to prepare them for the very distinctive, unique life that they have had to lead. And she did it very cleverly, I think."

We're sure Princess Di would be so proud of how her boys turned out.

Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here.



nakeisha campbell bio

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Nakeisha has been interviewing celebrities and covering all things entertainment for over 8 years, but she has also written on a wide range of topics, like career...