23 Of Queen Victoria’s Most Surprising Eating Habits

Throughout the 19th century, every British royal had more than a few quirks. Queen Victoria’s eating habits were especially noteworthy, though. While many people in the Victorian era made questionable decisions and practiced dangerous diets, the queen’s way of eating was, well, completely out of the norm. Most women in that time period deprived themselves of food, even going so far as to swallow tapeworms to remain dangerously thin. Queen Victoria, however, had a voracious appetite, and everyone knew it. She loved to eat, and she ate a lot.

Interestingly, though, the queen could be quite obsessive about her weight, at least during the early years of her rule. Later in life, she embraced a more generous diet. Some even considered her obese when, in 2015, auctioneers sold off a pair of her rather large underwear.

We, however, are certainly not judging her; the queen’s appetite for food reflected her hearty appetite for life. And that’s not a bad thing! Here are some of her most surprising eating habits.

1. Royal advisors didn’t let Queen Victoria eat much in her youth.

Queen Victoria may have had such a nebulous relationship with food in her adult years because she was largely deprived of tasty food in her childhood. According to History Extra, the young royal’s diet was extremely regimented. She could only eat things like plain bread and milk for dinner. And as a result, Victoria swore she would eat richer meals when she got older.

2. She preferred to eat food that was seasonal.

It’s obvious that Queen Victoria knew a thing or two about food.

She only ate food when it was freshest and at its best. In fact, an anonymous account published in 1901, The Private Life of the Queen by a Member of the Royal Household, noted, “[Queen Victoria] never permits her own table or that of her household to be served with anything that is out of season.” One can assume, the queen appreciated a new harvest.

3. She liked to give herself plenty of options for breakfast.

Queen Victoria didn’t believe in skipping her morning meal. No, she truly seemed to consider breakfast the most important meal. History Extra even noted that the royal’s breakfasts were always varied. Of all her different choices, though, most menu items had high protein counts. The palace chef might prepare things like porridge, fish, eggs on toast, luxe bread, and smoked haddock. Victoria also loved a good lamb chop for breakfast.

4. Dinner was always elaborate, and it featured several courses.

Queen Victoria did not play around when it came to dinner.

According to certain historians, the queen requested several courses for her evening meals. The dinner would start with a selection of soups, then move on to fish; Victoria really loved turbot or whitebait. Next, the chef served another entree with meat, and the monarch preferred roast beef. Finally, the meal concluded with vegetables and then sweets.

5. She really liked one particularly difficult soup.

Even Queen Victoria’s “simple” soups were complex. She didn’t go for regular tomato or chicken soups. Instead, pale consommé was one of her favorite options. To perfect this hard-to-make broth, the royal chef had to clarify veal stock using a cracked eggshell and minced breast meat mixture. Sounds… interesting.

6. Victoria’s dinners always included a side table full of meats.

Kate Hubbard, researcher and author of Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household, attested to this. She claimed that the royal house members called Queen Victoria’s buffet the side table. The table held meats like venison, brawn, marrowbones, and beef. If dinner guests or the queen herself felt hungry during dinner, they could pick what foodstuffs they wanted from the extra surface. Apparently, this love of buffets often led to criticism, since it was so uncommon.

7. She refused to take her time when eating.

📻 👑 'She could put away a seven or eight course meal in half an hour.' 😮 😱 Queen Victoria's eating habits. 🍴 https://t.co/SxkhGrFBlT pic.twitter.com/Ph0JyEWzxZ

— BBC (@BBC) May 17, 2017

If there was one thing Queen Victoria was known for, it was eating quickly… really quickly. Historians like Kate Hubbard described her as “greedy.” And allegedly, the hungry queen “gobbled” her meals down all the time. Victoria didn’t like mealtimes to last more than a half hour. We suppose she didn’t like to waste time when food was concerned.

8. Everyone had to stop eating when she was done.

Me if I had to eat with Queen Victoria with her fast eating habit and the servents tried to take my food away lol #VictoriaAlbertPBS pic.twitter.com/luLPZ5jfpT

— Johanna Kraynak (@JohannaKraynak) January 21, 2019

Not only did Queen Victoria eat very, very quickly, but she also demanded that everyone stop eating exactly when she finished. According to Express UK, court etiquette dictated that Victoria received her food before anyone else. Moreover, all dishes were removed from the table as soon as the queen finished. Accordingly, any royal dinner guests had to eat just as quickly as their reigning hostess. Otherwise, they went hungry.

9. She barely spoke during dinner.

And how could she?

With all of that fast eating, it’s not surprising Queen Victoria didn’t really have time for a lot of talking. Reportedly, a politician who shared a meal with Victoria found her exceptionally rude. He claimed, “I personally never heard her say anything at dinner which I remembered the next day. Her manners were not affable; she spoke very little at meals, and she ate fast and very seldom laughed.” Who could possibly talk when they’re eating multiple courses in a half hour, though.

10. The queen didn’t pause between courses.

Victoria didn’t just eat individual dishes quickly, she polished off entire meals in record time. According to Express UK, one of the queen’s dinner party guests found the practice rather noteworthy, mentioning, “The Queen ate everything, even cheese and a pear after dinner. No [real] courses: dinner is served straight on, and when you finish one dish you get the next, without a pause for breath.” At least she was efficient!

11. She really loved potatoes.

There were some foods that Victoria loved more than others. And, truly, don’t we all? According to multiple reports, the queen was a very big fan of potatoes. The anonymous writer of The Private Life of the Queen by a Member of the Royal Household claimed, “Her Majesty confesses to a great weakness for potatoes, which are cooked for her in every conceivable way.” Sounds pretty good to us!

12. The queen also had a major sweet tooth.

We don’t know for sure which part of the meal was Victoria’s favorite.

But we do know how much she cherished desserts; a good sweet was her weakness! History Extra says dessert typically included options like mulled wine, ice cream, cakes, and pastries. And according to one account, Queen Victoria loved “chocolate sponges, plain sponges, wafers of two or three different shapes, langues de chat, biscuits and drop cakes of all kinds, tablets, petit fours, princess and rice cakes, pralines, almond sweets, and a large variety of mixed sweets.”

13. She was especially into pie.

The British monarch never seemed to find a pie that didn’t agree with her. In fact, a court guest shared that, “Her Majesty is very fond of all kinds of pies, and a cranberry tart with cream is one of her favorite dishes.” Can you really blame her, though? Pie is delicious, and a cranberry fruit version sounds very, very good.

14. Queen Victoria could put back a drink, and she loved whiskey.

She certainly didn’t believe in staying away from booze.

Historians report the monarch had a taste for good whiskey, Purportedly, she inherited the preference from John Brown, a close Scottish friend. In fact, there was a small distillery near Balmoral that made a special whiskey just for her. The queen drank it with soda water. Supposedly, in 1942, she drank a glass of Atholl brose (a mix of whiskey and honey) from a cup that belonged to legendary Scottish fiddler Niel Gow.

16. Sometimes she hosted longer dinners and attempted to be friendly.

Though most of Queen Victoria’s dining experiences were quiet and quick affairs, she occasionally hosted more exciting meals. They were longer, and guests could actually converse with the British royal. According to The Daily Mail, most of these really long dinners featured only women as guests. The queen opened up more when men weren’t present. She would even “roar with laughter” if she found something especially funny.

17. She didn’t eat the way most women of her time did.

Women in the Victorian era did not overeat, eat quickly, or place much emphasis on thoroughly enjoying their food. It just wasn’t normal. Instead, women were expected to eat small amounts. They could rarely show their love for food. And they were supposed to be extremely polite. Society dictated that they dine on bland “dainty” options rather than the foods Victoria loved. So, hats off to the queen!

18. She tended to bring food with her wherever she went.

The Daily Mail noted that Queen Victoria usually had food packed for her when she went away for the day or traveled. Apparently, she didn’t want to risk going hungry. Her road meals typically consisted of tea and cakes. On one such traveling excursion, the monarch went to a charity ball at the Italian Opera House in London. She brought with her a “light” dinner of rice soup, ham, tongue, lobster salad, cold chicken, plovers’ eggs, sandwiches, eggs, patisserie, jellies, and creams.

19. She didn’t limit herself to normal foods.

#295 of 365 The Greedy Queen: Eating with Queen Victoria by @DrAnnieGray A culinary biography of Queen Victoria, an enthusiastic and adventurous eater who sampled bird's nest soup in 1884 and an ostrich egg omelette in 1899. A delicious read! #bookaday2018 #amreading pic.twitter.com/ELdGsE9xeY

— Carolyn Harris (@royalhistorian) October 29, 2018

And her dinners could get quite adventurous.

Victoria loved elaborate French food, so her dinners usually consisted of heavy French dishes. And the queen certainly wasn’t afraid to try new foods. Some reports indicate that she tried bird’s nest soup in China and an ostrich egg omelet in France. Moreover, she started eating bustard and turtle after becoming Empress of India in 1877. Victoria also loved a good curry.

20. Her eating habits gave her indigestion and gas.

Is it any surprise that Victoria had some digestion issues?

Her penchant for eating a lot of food very quickly really messed up her stomach. And the large quantities of unhealthy food she ate certainly didn’t help matters. Reportedly, Queen Victoria’s physician, Dr. James Reid, once noted that his patient thought she was having a heart attack. In reality, the queen just had a lot of flatulence. In other words, she was really bloated and gassy.

21. She refused to take her doctor’s advice and limit her eating.

When doctors suggested Victoria diet, the queen would simply eat “diet foods” in addition to all of the other foods she regularly enjoyed. So, basically, she ate even more. And when her physician told her to take medication for indigestion, Queen Victoria just swallowed it right along with her other rich treats.

22. She started eating a lot more when her husband died.

When Albert passed away, Queen Victoria suffered a major blow. And, according to The Guardian, Britain’s monarch turned to food for comfort. This is really when she started to gain a lot of weight. Apparently “after Albert’s death, she became a trenchant if joyless eater, [plowing] through course after course, still gobbling.”

23. The queen committed more to her poor diet the older she got.

Victoria didn’t slow down.

In her 70s, the queen still favored six-course meals. The Aga Khan wrote about their experience eating with the queen in the late 1800s, noting:

The dinner was long and elaborate – course after course – three or four choices of meat, a hot pudding and an iced pudding, a savory and all kinds of hothouse fruit – slow and stately in its serving. We sat down at a quarter past nine and it must have been a quarter to 11 before it was all over. The Queen, in spite of her age, ate and drank heartily – every kind of wine that was offered, and every course, including both the hot and the iced pudding.

24. She didn’t decrease her food intake until her final days.

It wasn’t until Queen Victoria was close to death that her appetite got smaller, and stopped eating quite as much. That’s how people knew she was dying. According to The Royal Central, the queen’s last journal entry in January 1901 mentioned how she had only been able to ingest a little milk in the morning. That’s pretty depressing when you think about it.