It’s a good thing Meghan Markle doesn’t have to worry about scaring off vampires because as a member of the British Royal Family, she will not be eating garlic any time soon.
Garlic will reportedly be banned from all royal meals Markle has during her official royal tours. According to The U.K. Express, Queen Elizabeth II does not like garlic and since it can also give you bad breath, royal family members like to avoid it.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We can never serve anything with garlic or too much onions. The Queen would never have garlic on the menu,” Buckingham Palace chef Darren McGrady told the Express.
“We can never serve anything with garlic or too much onions,” McGrady also explained to Recipes Plus. “We also couldn’t serve meat that was rare, as she liked her meat more well done.”
This might be a little disappointing for Markle. In a 2012 column for TODAY.com, the former Suits star included garlic in two of her favorite recipes: chicken adobo and seasoned veggie quinoa.
“I enjoy making slow-cooked food on Sundays, like Filipino-style chicken adobo,” Markle wrote in 2012. “It’s so easy — combine garlic, soy (or Bragg Liquid Aminos), vinegar, maybe some lemon and let the chicken swim in that sauce until it falls off the bone in a Crock Pot. I have a beautiful Le Creuset that could also do the trick, but the Sunday supper ‘Americana’ of it all calls for a Crock Pot. Set it and forget it and serve with brown rice and salad.”
This royal rule also means Prince Harry and Markle probably can never recreate their engagement dinner for Harry’s grandmother. Markle said she was making roasted chicken the night she proposed. If she followed this recipe, she needed one whole head of garlic.
Members of the Royal Family are also not supposed to eat shellfish out of health and safety concerns.
Shelfish can contain bacteria from where they were caught. Some common illnesses from shellfish include DSP (diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning) and NSP (neurotoxic shellfish poisoning). Since royal tours are on strict schedules, one sick day could throw the whole trip off.
McGrady also told The Telegraph in 2015 that Queen Elizabeth avoids starch when she dines by herself.
“When she dines on her own, she’s very disciplined. No starch is the rule,” McGrady said. “No potatoes, rice or pasta for dinner. Just usually something like grilled sole with vegetables and salad.”
Harry and Markle, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are expected to go to Dublin in July. Their first official royal trip will be to Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and the Kingdom of Tongo, timed with the Invictus Games in Sydney from Oct. 20 to 27.
Photo credit: Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images
