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Prince William and Harry were bribed into eating their greens by palace chefs – see how they did it

Discover this genius royal nanny hack!

royal kids eat vegetable
Georgia Brown
Senior Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
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Have you ever wondered what life is like growing up in a royal household? If you assume turkey dinosaurs and potato smiles are off the menu – you're not wrong. Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously revealed a young Prince William and Prince Harry were encouraged to eat "grown up dishes" when dining at the palace.

SEE: Royal school lunches: Prince William & Prince Harry's five-star meals at Eton revealed

In an interview with Today, Darren also revealed that Princess Diana "insisted [William and Harry] have what the rest of the guests were eating." This didn't stop the young royals from requesting pizza and chicken nuggets with chips from time to time!

WATCH: Royal children starting their first day of school!

"The Royal nursery wasn't just for educating the minds of the young royals but educating their palates, too," explained Darren. "Nanny always had control of the menu and made sure they ate balanced meals that included not only lots of healthy vegetables but introduced them to new grown-up dishes too."

In a bid to please the royal nannies, Darren had to get creative in the kitchen. The chef explained he would try to disguise the vegetables in foods that William and Harry liked to eat, such as broccoli mashed into potatoes.

prince william prince harry school

A young Prince William and Harry were encouraged to eat their greens

Though the young princes were encouraged to eat their greens when dining at the palace, Princess Diana reportedly had a more balanced view of eating. The royal mother would often shock the palace chefs by taking the boys to McDonald's.  

SEE: Prince George and Princess Charlotte's school lunches revealed

READ MORE: Princess Anne's daily diet: The royal's secret to looking radiant at 71

Speaking to the Mirror, Darren remembered: "And I said, 'Oh my god your royal highness, I can do that, I can do burgers.'

"And she said: 'No, it's the toy they want.'"

prince william cooking eton

Prince William went on to study home economics at Eton

Darren previously told his YouTube subscribers one of Prince William and Prince Harry's favourite dishes when they were younger was crispy skin-on chicken with mac and cheese, which were prepared very simply with salt before being roasted in the oven. And who can resist a side of gooey mac and cheese?

The former royal chef divulged that the princes also enjoyed the chicken and mac and cheese with a side of sweetcorn, but when their nanny was in the house, the chicken had to be accompanied by broccoli. And the trade-off was that Harry and William had to eat a floret of broccoli for every piece of chicken they gobbled up!

We wonder if the royals use these cheeky tricks on their own children now that they have become parents themselves?

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