The royal family has historically enjoyed trying food in the United States during their visits to the country, a new book reveals – and one meal in particular might have changed the course of history, according to its author.
In his new book “Cooking & the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III,” Tom Parker Bowles details the food-related adventures of the royal family over the last two centuries.
Parker Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, is an award-winning food writer and restaurant critic.
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“I think when the monarchs travel, they try all the food,” Parker Bowles told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview from his hotel room in New York City. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“Why wouldn’t you, if you come to America? It’s got some of the greatest regional food in the world,” he said.
In his new book, “Cooking & the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III,” Tom Parker Bowles, son of Camilla — she is shown at far left, above, next to King Charles — shares stories and recipes of the British royal family. It includes some of their trips to the United States, where they ate hot dogs (top right) and enchiladas (bottom right). (Chris Jackson/Getty Images; iStock)
Perhaps the most consequential American dish consumed by a British royal were the hot dogs shared by King George VI and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Parker Bowles told Fox News Digital.
The two dined on the American classic in Hyde Park, New York, in June 1939, Parker Bowles wrote in his book.
“The King and Queen found themselves sitting on folding chairs at Hyde Park, eating hot dogs served on silver platters,” he wrote. “The King seemed a little nonplussed. ‘What should I do?’ he asked the President. ‘Put it in your mouth and keep chewing until you finish it,’ came the smiling response.”
“Really, it was the power of food. That’s what fascinates me.”
After the hot dogs were consumed, however, talk turned to the growing threat of Nazi Germany.
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At the time, the thought of entering another war overseas was not popular, Parker Bowles said.
“Then they went upstairs, and they talked” about the war, he said.
“Really, it was the power of food. That’s what fascinates me – the power of food and something as humble as a hot dog,” said Parker Bowles.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (far right) and King George VI (second from left) dined on hot dogs during their meeting in Hyde Park, New York, in 1939 – then discussed the ongoing war in Europe. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
In those discussions, Roosevelt pledged his support to the British Atlantic convoys. The United States would eventually provide support to the United Kingdom and other Allied powers prior to its official entry into World War II in Dec. 1941.
“If America hadn’t come into the Second World War, well, God only knows what would have happened,” said Parker Bowles. “So it was a very, very important hot dog, however you look at it.”
Other visits to the United States were a lot less consequential in world history – but still had some surprising food moments.
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During one visit to the United States, former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy treated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to “a full sort of Californian Tex-Mex feast,” Parker Bowles said.
“I wouldn’t have thought [Mexican food] was something that the late queen had seen a lot – you know, sort of enchiladas and refried beans,” he said. “Delicious food.”
The Reagans maintained a friendship with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Parker Bowles noted, “united by their love of horses.”
On one visit to California, President Ronald Reagan (left) treated Queen Elizabeth (second from left) and Prince Philip (far right) to a “a full sort of Californian Tex-Mex feast,” including enchiladas, Parker Bowles said. (Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
Prince Philip had another hobby that some may find surprising, noted Parker Bowles: grilling and barbecuing.
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“He was a great food lover and watched all the food TV programs and loved cookbooks and loved cooking,” Parker Bowles said.
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Prince Philip even went as far as to design his own grill, Parker Bowles said, calling it “a masterpiece.”
Tom Parker Bowles shares recipes and food anecdotes from the British royal family in his new book, “Cooking & the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III.” (Ten Speed Press)
The prince “created this incredible multi-level grill with different heat levels – he has a whole trailer that he’s designed to go behind the Land Rover,” he said.
Mark Flanagan, the royal chef, thought highly of Prince Philip’s cooking skills as well, Parker Bowles said.
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“[Flanagan] told me as well that [Prince Philip] would come through the kitchen and choose his own cuts and make his own marinades and was a really, really good chef,” Parker Bowles said.