'Mummy says it's okay!' Kensington Palace chef reveals how Princess Diana let a young Harry enjoy his favourite treacle tart for breakfast
- Her personal chef Carolyn Robb, now 53, said she used to make them puddings
- She started working at Kensington Palace when Harry was four years old
- Harry brought her a note from Diana saying he could have a tart before breakfast
Diana occasionally let Prince Harry (pictured) have a treacle tart before breakfast
Princess Diana occasionally let Prince Harry have a treacle tart for breakfast - and her chef even kept a constant supply in the freezer.
Carolyn Robb, now 53, used to make puddings the size of 50 pence pieces for the two young princes.
She started working for the royal couple at Kensington Palace in 1989 and stayed on after the divorce until 2000.
One morning, a young Harry came to the kitchen 'before breakfast and asked for one,' she told the Sunday Times.
Ms Robb said he better ask his mother. 'So off he went, scampering back a few moments later with a note Diana had written: 'Mummy says it's okay'.'
When she started at the palace Harry was four years old, and William was seven.
The younger prince had a taste for treacle tarts while his brother preferred chocolate biscuit cake - which he even had re-created for his wedding.
Harry (pictured as a young boy) enjoys a sweet treat – even though it’s not one of his favourite treacle tarts made by Carolyn
The treacle tarts harry was so fond of. Diana's personal chef, Carolyn Robb, kept a supply of them in the freezer for him
Ms Robb, now 53, said that Diana preferred 'simple dishes' like cold minted lamb while Charles' dietary requirements were more demanding
She also revealed that while Diana preferred 'simple dishes' like cold minted lamb, salads, souffles and stuffed aubergine, her husband was more demanding.
'Everything was based on what was in season in the garden', she said describing Charles' dietary requirements, 'you wouldn't dare serve asparagus in December'.
She said her time at with the royal family was like a 'dream job' and 'couldn't have been more perfect'.
‘You’re cooking with the freshest ingredients in well-equipped kitchens, for people who tell you when they particularly enjoy a meal. It’s a complete joy. And so exciting.
'I mean, you get to travel the world with them. I cooked on the Royal Yacht Britannia. I’d go with them to Balmoral and make the picnics.
'You have this extraordinary role right at the heart of that world. It’s a complete privilege.’
Robb was interviewed for the job by Diana herself, who at that time was the most famous woman in the world, and was poached from the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's kitchens.
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She also cooked for Prince William (pictured) who had a preference for chocolate biscuit cake
A royal Christmas card sent to Ms Robb from Diana and the rest of the family
‘I was incredibly nervous,’ she says.
‘I’d grown up in South Africa, but I’d been desperate to get my hands on every magazine that had pictures of her in it. When you’ve grown up with that and you have this person in front of you… well, you can imagine.
'The wonderful thing was she immediately put me at ease by saying that she was nervous.
'She said, “Oh I’m not very good at interviews. I haven’t done many of these before, but I’m sure you have lots of questions for me.”’ Carolyn would come to marvel at that skill of putting people at ease.
‘If you could bottle it, we’d all be able to do it,’ she notes. ‘But it was all very natural with her, completely effortless.’
Handwritten notes written by Diana to her personal chef Carolyn Robb
A letter from Prince Charles also thanking the chef and saying the dinner that she cooked was 'delicious' that evening
Diana photographed with Prince William and Prince Harry in Great Windsor park, 1991
Carolyn continued to work for Prince Charles following his split with Diana but said she would have been equally happy working for Diana
Ms Robb published a book in 2015 called The Royal Touch, a lovingly pulled together collection of very English recipes inspired by her time in the royal household.
The book mentions wild mushrooms foraged from Balmoral in Scotland, salmon from the river there, game from Sandringham in Norfolk, and plums picked from the trees at Highgrove, which all became inspirations for Carolyn's recipes.
There are also many pudding recipes including crumble, trifle and eton mess.
‘I wanted to call the book A Trifle Royal, but my publisher thought it wouldn’t work in America,' she said.
Carolyn was raised near Durban in South Africa by an English mother and South African father and moved to London after dropping out of university.
‘I always knew I wanted to cook, so it seemed pointless to be studying languages,’ she said.
She found herself in the kitchens, aged 21, when the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester hired her after she completed her Cordon Bleu cookery course.
