EXCLUSIVE: Why Tragic Princess Diana Ended Up Eating From Kids' Menus and Fast Food to Keep William and Harry Happy
Princess Diana was all about fast food to help her sons feel normal.
Jan. 31 2026, Published 12:00 p.m. ET
Princess Diana deliberately set aside royal dining conventions and healthy adult menus to eat children's food and fast food so her young sons felt relaxed, normal, and happy at home, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Princess of Wales, who died aged 36 in a 1997 Paris car smash, lived at Kensington Palace with Prince William, now 43, and Prince Harry, 41, during the 1990s, following her separation from Prince Charles in 1992 and their divorce in 1996.
Princess Diana and 'Comfort Food'
Princess Diana ditched royal menus for 'nursery food' to help her sons relax.
Behind palace walls, Diana made a point of reshaping daily routines around her sons' preferences, including what appeared on the lunch table.
The details have been shared by her longtime chef, Darren McGrady, who worked for the royal household from the 1980s and served Diana directly from 1993 until her death in August 1997.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, McGrady explained how the menu often shifted depending on whether William and Harry were present.
He said: "When she was entertaining, especially if she had the boys home, William and Harry, I had to change the menu to make it nursery-friendly so that the boys would like it – comfort food that they would like but a dish or two that she would like, too."
The approach reflected Diana's determination to create an informal, child-centered atmosphere rather than impose adult expectations on her sons.
Helping William and Harry Feel Like 'Normal Kids'
The Princess of Wales occasionally canceled palace lunches for trips to McDonald’s
McGrady recalled preparing different meals for mother and child at the same sitting.
On one occasion, he cooked sole florentine for Diana while serving spaghetti bolognese to Harry.
If friends joined them at Kensington Palace, the menu could change entirely, with dishes such as tomato mousse followed by lobster thermidor and pear flan.
But when the boys were the focus, simplicity ruled.
A source familiar with Diana's parenting style told us: "She wanted William and Harry to feel like normal kids, not princes under constant instruction. Sitting down together to eat the same food mattered to her, even if that meant kids' menus instead of palace fare."
Princess Diana's Trips to McDonald’s for Happy Meals
The Princess prioritized 'happiness at the table' over formal royal dining conventions.
Sometimes, Diana bypassed palace lunches altogether.
McGrady said she would occasionally tell him to cancel preparations so she could take her sons out for fast food.
Recalling one such moment, he said: "One lunchtime, I was getting lunch ready, and the princess came in and said, 'Cancel lunch today. I'm taking them out.' When he asked where they were going, he said, 'I asked, 'Where are you going?' and she said, 'McDonald's.'"
McGrady added: "I said, 'I can do burgers better than McDonald's,' and she said, 'I know that, Darren, but they want the toys and the Happy Meal.' They would get fast food sometimes, just like normal families with children."
'Happiness at the Table'
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Prince William frequently helped himself to Häagen-Dazs ice cream in the palace kitchen.
He explained Diana's own diet altered noticeably depending on whether the boys were with her.
"It changed from Princess Diana's healthy eating – stuffed peppers, aubergine, vegetarian dishes – to nursery food," McGrady said.
"Wills and Harry loved cottage pie, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries, potato wedges, and macaroni cheese."
William, McGrady added, had a particular fondness for sweets. He said: "William would walk into the kitchen and say, 'Darren, can I have some chocolate ice cream, please?' I'd say, 'Help yourself.' He'd grab Häagen-Dazs chocolate chip – that was his favorite – open it, and sit in the windowsill eating it."
McGrady said the atmosphere at Kensington Palace was markedly informal compared with other royal residences.
"It was so much more relaxed over at Kensington," he said.
Another source said Diana believed shared meals, even fast food, were essential to emotional closeness, adding: "For her, happiness at the table mattered far more than appearances."
