We can't say we blame her!
If ever you needed proof that the royals are just like the rest of us—at least when it comes to fast food—you are in the right place. Yep, despite having access to personal chefs and fancy foods at their fingertips anytime of the day or night, they sometimes get a craving for menu items that aren’t all that high brow. As it turns out, Meghan Markle ranks among that number and has a soft spot for a particular McDonald’s item that, chances are, you love too.
The Duchess of Sussex recently revealed this tasty tidbit on her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan—and confessed that she indulged regularly. Now, she even whips up her own version of it at home, as she demonstrated in that same episode.
So which food can’t Meghan resist? Read on to find out, along with the other royals’ favorite fast-food meals.
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Which McDonald’s menu item does Meghan love?
No, it’s not a Big Mac, a McFlurry or perfectly salted fries. Instead, Meghan’s favorite is the McDonald’s apple pie. Yep, she’s an all-American girl at heart! In the Season 2 episode “Easy as Pie,” she tells guest Tan France, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy‘s resident fashion expert. “My love of a little handheld apple pie runs deep, so we’re going to make a homemade version of my favorite fast-food apple pies.”
As she makes this McDonald’s dupe—with her own special twist, of course—she explains she loves to make these handheld apple treats because they remind her of when she was a young actor. “Everything is connected to memory,” she says, “and that’s what makes it sentimental and meaningful.”
Why was she such a fan of these McDonald’s apple pies?
Well, they’re delicious, for starters. But Meghan actually ordered them for a very special, very sweet reason: She treated herself to a McDonald’s apple pie every time she did well during an audition, back when she was an aspiring actor. “When I was an auditioning actor, if I thought I did really well at an audition, most actresses would probably think, I went on an audition, I’m going to go to the gym,” she says. But a workout was the last thing on her mind. “I was like, That went so well, I’m going to treat myself with a drive-through apple pie! I’d go to the drive-through at McDonald’s and buy myself an apple pie.”
These days, she likes to make her own version at home because it brings back so many memories. “Cooking and food is really the sense recall,” she explains to France.
Does Prince Harry also have a soft spot for McDonald’s?
Yes, Prince Harry is also a McDonald’s fan! His mom, Princess Diana, used to take him and his big brother, Prince William, to the fast-food chain as a treat. Diana was also determined to bring up her boys with a sense of normalcy, and there’s nothing more “normal” than McDonald’s!
And, of course, boys loved it, according to Darren McGrady, Diana’s former chef. Once, he says, Diana asked him to cancel the lunch he’d planned to make them since she wanted to take them out—specifically to McDonald’s. He told the princess that he could make better burgers, to which she replied, “I know that Darren, but they want the toys in the Happy Meal.'” Pretty much every parent on the planet can relate to that!
Are Meghan and Harry still McDonald’s fans?
Neither has been spotted at a McDonald’s recently, so we can’t say for sure. But we do know that the Sussexes enjoy fast-food burgers, since they’ve admitted to being regulars at In-N-Out Burger. “It’s really fun to go through the drive-thru and surprise them,” Meghan told Variety of their regular pit stop between L.A. and their Montecito home. “They know our order.”
Prince Harry has also talked about his love for In-N-Out, telling People, “In-N-Out is the best! I order two double-doubles, animal style, fries and a Coke. And that’s just for me! Meg gets the cheeseburger and fries with sides of jalapeños. I just stick with ketchup and that special sauce of theirs. So good!”
Beyond burgers, Meghan is also a fan of fast-food tacos. “I grew up eating a lot of fast food,” she told guest Mindy Kaling in Season 1 of With Love, Meghan. “I used to eat a lot of El Pollo Loco, Taco Bell, extra hot sauce on the Mexican pizza and Jack in the Box, as my mom loved it.”
Do the other royals eat fast food?
Yes! It’s not just Harry and Meghan who treat themselves to the occasional fast-food meal. Prince William likes chicken from chicken chain Nando’s, explaining on the 2020 BBC documentary Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health that his protection officer got him into it. “In fact, the policeman who’s on with me again … he’s the one who gets me the Nando’s the whole time. It’s his fault.”
And, of course, William was part of the McDonald’s runs with his mum back in the day. However, according to royal insiders, Princess Kate doesn’t let their children indulge as much as Diana did. “Kate wants to escape her middle-class childhood,” according to biographer Tom Quinn in his book Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family. “She dislikes burgers and chips and wouldn’t dream of taking her children to McDonald’s.”
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Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of stories on the British royal family, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating facets of the monarchy. We regularly cover topics including the latest royal news, the history and meaning behind time-honored traditions, and the everyday quirks of everyone’s favorite family members, from Queen Elizabeth’s daily snack to Prince William’s confessions about his home life. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- With Love, Meghan : “Easy as Pie”
- Marie Claire: “18 Things You Never Knew About the Royal Family’s *Insane* Eating Habits”
- Variety: “Meghan Markle Lets Her Guard Down: On Grieving Queen Elizabeth, Producing With Harry and Returning to Hollywood”
- People: “Prince Harry Shares His and Meghan Markle’s Go-to In-N-Out Burger Order: ‘So Good!'”
- Football, Prince William and our Mental Health
- Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family by Tom Quinn
