Not content with being a landowner, head of the Church of England and one of the world’s longest-reigning monarchs, Queen Elizabeth II has added another, unexpected string to her bow, with the launch of a line of condiments.
Made using ingredients grown on the monarch’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, the royals have released a ketchup and brown sauce, the latest food product to come from one of the queen's estates.
The ketchup comes in a glass bottle packed with flavours including dates, apple juice and spices. It costs £6.99 for 295g, about $9 or Dh34.
“A real family favourite, packed full of tomato and lightly spiced, this ketchup is delightful,” states the label. “Vibrant and fruity, this ketchup can be enjoyed any time of the day, perfect to add flavour to a dish.”
The accompanying brown sauce is described as “a tomato based sauced packed with vinegar and spices” and costs the same at the ketchup. Both are available from the Sandringham shop and online.
Food and drinks by royal command
The ketchup will probably prove to be the perfect accompaniment to the burgers the queen is said to be a fan of, which she eats with a knife and fork.
“It always tickled me at Balmoral, we would make our own burgers," former royal chef Darren McGrady told Fabulous Digital. “They would shoot deer, and we would do venison burgers. There’d be gorgeous cranberry and everything stuffed into them, but we never set buns out.”
While the 95-year-old monarch’s forays into food are relatively new, her son Prince Charles has been producing a variety of organic items for years.
Flour, jam, biscuits and oat cakes are just a few items created under the Duchy Originals label through his Duchy of Cornwall estate, with some items sold in Spinneys and Waitrose stores across the UAE.
Here are six royal food and beverage products you can buy now
Tea and lemon biscuits
Nothing is more traditionally royal than tea and biscuits.
www.shop.sandringhamestate.co.uk/collections, £45
Buckingham Palace Scottish Heather Honey
While there are beehives kept at Buckingham Palace, this honey actually hails from another royal estate, Balmoral in Scotland, from hives kept on the moorlands.
www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk/foodhall, £8.95
Waitrose Duchy Oaten Biscuits
A partnership between Waitrose and Prince Charles’s Duchy Originals has created these biscuits to be eaten alone or with cheese.
In store at Waitrose or www.desertcart.ae, Dh61
Buckingham Palace Strawberry Preserve
Ideal spread on scones for afternoon tea, or on toast at breakfast.
www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk/foodhall, £3.95
Waitrose Duchy Original Highland Butter Shortbread
Tuck into the traditional Scottish treat that’s made with flour from wheat grown on the Duchy Home Farm at Prince Charles’s Highgrove estate.
www.spinneys.com, Dh21.75
Sandringham Honey
This honey is collected from bees kept at the Sandringham estate, along with a bar of handmade honey milk chocolate courtesy of the royal bees.
www.shopsandringhamestate.co.uk/collections, £40 (Dh198)
