20 Things You Didn’t Know About The British Royal Family (Part 2)

​Despite their popularity, the royal family still manages to maintain some mystery about their lives. Here are things people probably didn’t know about the British royal family. (See items 1-10 in Part 1 here.)

11. The Queen eats from plastic containers

Though sometimes royal dinners are served on the most lavish plates and utensils, the Queen often serves herself some Kellogg's cereal from a plastic container for breakfast. When the Queen is at Balmoral she'd also eat fruit from a Tupperware container.

12. The royal family has very formal dinners

Former royal chef Darren McGrady said that dinner was a formal affair for the family. “They’d come down in dressy ball gowns, and sit at the table — like a Downtown Abbey dinner,” described McGrady. “All the fine china was brought out. At the end of the meal, a bagpipe player would walk around the table,” he added. Once, Philip was dressed too casually for dinner, and the former chef mistook him for the gardener.

13. Meghan wears US department store clothes

In Meghan’s first official outing with Prince Harry in 2018, she wore a black wool sweater from Marks & Spencer. Marks & Spencer is a US brand and can be accessible to anyone who would like to replicate Meghan’s fashion style.

14. The Queen likes chocolate

After dinner, the Queen likes to eat chocolate. She's a huge fan of dark chocolate and prefers it 60 percent or higher.

15. Queen Elizabeth signs personal Christmas cards with “Lilibet”

The royal family sends out about 800 Christmas cards during the holidays. The Queen makes her cards as personal as possible. Her cousins have their cards signed with her nickname “Lilibet.”

16. The Queen owns 40-year-old gloves

The Queen wears her gloves not just to complete her outfit but also to protect her hands from dirt when shaking hands all day. She often gets her £110 ($140) gloves washed and repaired instead of buying new ones.

17. The Queen isn’t the royal family member with the highest net worth

With an estimated worth of $5 billion, Princess Charlotte holds the crown for the royal family member with the highest net worth. Charlotte's older brother, George, has an estimated worth of $3.6 billion, whereas Queen Elizabeth's net worth is $550 million.

18. Fruitcake is a royal wedding cake tradition

Queen Victoria in 1840, Elizabeth and Philip in 1947, Charles and Diana in 1981 and William and Kate in 2011 all served a traditional English wedding fruitcake at their wedding. However, at their royal wedding, Harry and Meghan broke this tradition when they served a lemon elderflower cake with buttercream frosting.

19. The Queen Mother was always late for dinner

At Balmoral, the Queen Mother was notoriously late for dinner. The staff had to lie, telling her that dinner was at 8:15 when it was really at 8:30.

20. The royal family replies to fan mail

According to The Royal Household, members of the royal family receive around 100,000 letters each year and personally respond to said letters. When William and Kate announced their engagement, they received over 60,000 letters. The couple made sure to reply to every single letter with a return address.