Everything King Charles eats in a day: Seeds, boiled eggs, foraged mushrooms and more

Considering King Charles III has access to a talented fleet of royal chefs, it's easy to imagine mealtimes at Buckingham Palace being a highly elaborate affair. If you picture dressed tables laden with multiple dishes and the finest silverware, you may be surprised to learn that the monarch has a famously down-to-earth approach to his eating, favouring homegrown vegetables, small meals and eggs from his chickens at Highgrove House.

Keep scrolling to discover King Charles' go-to breakfasts, favourite dinners, peculiar mealtime requests and the one meal he never eats below…

What does King Charles III eat for breakfast?

King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, keep their own chickens at their Gloucestershire family home, Highgrove House, so it's no surprise that fresh eggs feature high on the royal couple's breakfast menu.

Clarence House's official Instagram page also memorably shared one of Charles' favourite brunch recipes – cheesy baked eggs – which looked absolutely delicious.

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It's a protein-packed start to the day for the King! In royal journalist Tina Brown's book 'The Palace Papers', the King's peculiar appetite for nuts and seeds in the morning was also revealed.

Tina writes of a time when a guest was inspecting the breakfast buffet at Highgrove "when he lifted a tureen that offered Charles' preferred heap of Linseed."

Tina adds: "Prince William said: 'Oh no, don't go near the bird table, Stephen, that's only for Pa'."

What does King Charles III eat for lunch?

Famously, the Queen's son does not eat lunch. The royal's abnormal eating pattern has even been acknowledged by Clarence House in a list of 70 facts released for the King's (formerly Prince Charles) 70th birthday. Without explanation, number 20 on the list is: "The Prince does not eat lunch."

According to former royal correspondent Gordon Rayner, the father-of-two believes that lunch is a "luxury" that interferes with his busy work schedule.

What does King Charles III eat for dinner?

Charles and Camilla are known to enjoy gardening and eating hearty meals using fresh produce - much of which is produced at their own estate.

Charles is also a keen advocate for sustainability and chooses to follow a mainly plant-based diet in order to reduce his carbon footprint. "For years I haven’t eaten meat and fish on two days a week and I don’t eat dairy products on one day a week," the royal told the BBC in 2021.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady once shared his royal recipe for a mushroom risotte, which he said was inspired by a time he went foraging for wild mushrooms at Balmoral with Prince Charles before he became King. "It's no secret that King Charles III loves Italian food, and these dried wild mushrooms make the perfect risotto," said Darren.

Speaking to HELLO!, Graham Tinsley MBE, former manager of the Welsh Culinary Team confirmed one of the King's famous dining quirks, revealing that he has a boiled egg with every meal.

"[King] Charles doesn't like chocolate, he doesn't like coffee, nor does he like garlic. So we do have to consider these things when we're creating a menu for him," explained Graham. "The Prince requires a side salad for every meal - and this salad was very precise."

Charles is a fan of a coddled egg - a boiled egg that has only been cooked for about two to three minutes, and the unusual delicacy was always on the menu for him.

"Normally, a soft-boiled egg takes around five minutes. So imagine this coddled egg… it's going to be very, very soft.

"[King] Charles required a coddled egg that was peeled and hidden beneath salad leaves. He would then mash his salad leaves into the eggs to make a dressing – a bit like mayonnaise," Graham added.

What does King Charles III drink?

The Sunday Times previously reported the royal only likes his tea made with loose tea leaves in a teapot, "with the ration being one teaspoon of leaves per each cup of tea, plus one for the pot."

Not a Yorkshire teabag in sight then! When drinking green tea, the Queen's son also requires his water to be heated to 70C, while Earl Grey tea must be piping hot at 100C.

What Charles lacks in sweetness from hating chocolate, the royal makes up for in heaped spoonfuls of organic honey - which he reportedly adds straight to the teapot.