King Charles III was accused of being disrespectful to Palace staffers during Emmanuel Macron’s state visit
Buckingham Palace has broken its silence after King Charles was accused to disrespecting royal staffers last week.
During the July 9 State Banquet at Windsor Castle for French President Emmanuel Macron, French chef Raymond Blanc was invited to help prepare the royal feast. But not everyone was impressed.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady — who once served as a personal chef for Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana — called the move “a huge slap in the face to the palace royal chefs” while speaking to the Daily Mail last week.
Until now, the Palace had stayed silent on the backlash. But this week, the royal family’s official Instagram account shared a behind-the-scenes video of Blanc preparing the feast.
“Presently I’m in this extraordinary place which is called Windsor Castle, which is dreamlike,” Blanc says in the clip. “We’re about to cook a feast fit for a king celebrating a very special moment of the year.”
“My food is never with guilt; my food is about purity, it’s about close to home, it’s about the organic values as well. And I know our King is the same with the same values. I admire him enormously, and I hope he will love this dish,” he adds.
The video’s caption reads, “In the spirit of UK-France collaboration, Raymond Balnc was invited to work with Palace chefs to create the first course and dessert,” read the caption.
When the criticism first surfaced, Blanc responded by saying, “We all have an opinion – and I’ve got a different one. I like to bring people together.”
He also chose to leave the preparation of the main course to the Royal Household’s head chef, Mark Flanagan.
