Dinner At Buckingham Palace

Charles Oliver worked at Buckingham Palace from the reign of Queen Victoria to that of the present Queen. Based on his diaries, “Dinner At Buckingham Palace” is an extraordinary collection of photographs, recipes, anecdotes and menus.

Charles Oliver was the son of a Royal servant and followed in his parents’ footsteps and himself worked for the royal household most of his life. At the outbreak of World War 1 he left to join the army and fought at Gallipoli where he was badly wounded and survived with only one lung and partial paralysis.

On his return to royal service he joined the personal service of the Prince of Wales. He was particularly fascinated by the royal kitchens, keeping notes, recipes and menus which he hoped to have published – but only after his death (which took place in 1965).

In 1968 his notes came to the attention of noted biographer and journalist, Jack Fishman who tried to get them published before his own death in 1997. The papers then came to Fishman’s son, Paul, who put them together with some previously unpublished Royal family photos to create this book.

The Queen selects menus from a list of suggestions presented in a red leather-bound book … when a menu book is full it sent to the palace library where scores of these volumes are filed forming a unique record of the eating habits and fancies of many generations of British royalty

The royal children (ie Charles and Anne) had a great fondness for chocolate, particularly Kit Kats

The dining room at Balmoral, measuring not much more than 15 foot by 12 foot has never been enlarged because the Queen’s stay is meant to be a real holiday with only a minimum of guests – rarely more than a dozen sit down to dinner

A special tray is used for occasions when the Queen is entertaining guests in the royal suite at Buckingham Palace. It is white with gold edging, and has a glass top under which are four colour photographs of the Queen’s racehorses.

Based on the diaries of Charles Oliver
Edited and compiled by Paul Fishman and Fiorella Busoni
Metro 19th April
£12.99