The late monarch was known to take afternoon tea wherever she was in the world – and one of her favourite things was a very simple sandwich she had loved since childhood

The late Queen had a team of private chefs to cater to her every need. But one of her favourite things to eat was a simple sandwich that she had loved since childhood.

The monarch’s love of afternoon tea has been spoken about on a number of occasions by former members of royal staff. She would dine on savoury and sweet treats, including scones to chocolate biscuit cake.

And amongst the array of sandwiches was one that had been a firm fixture on the royal menu for over 90 years. The tradition of taking afternoon tea is about as quintessentially English as you can get, typically enjoyed between 3.30pm and 5pm.

Former royal chef, Darren McGrady, worked for the Royal Family for 15 years, having received his formal training at the Savoy Hotel in London. And he previously lifted the lid on the Queen’s favourite sandwich.

In one YouTube video to mark the return of garden parties at Buckingham Palace, McGrady revealed that one of The Queen’s favourite afternoon treats was jam pennies.

He said: “The Queen was served jam pennies in the nursery as a little girl, she’s had them for afternoon tea ever since. Simple, just bread and jam with a little butter – usually strawberry jam. We’d make the jam at Balmoral Castle with the gorgeous Scottish strawberries from the gardens.”

Another sandwich that The Queen was known to be fond of was a simple tuna mayonnaise, according to another former royal chef, Owen Hodgso. She reportedly liked her sarnie well buttered and served with thin slices of cucumber, and a sprinkle of pepper.

While the late monarch enjoyed a few other treats with her afternoon tea, the whole affair would certainly not be complete without some scones.

And she followed the traditional Cornish method when eating her scones, spreading the jam on first, before adding a dollop of cream.

McGrady previously said: “She’d always have afternoon tea wherever she was in the world. We’d flown out to Australia and were on the Royal Yacht. It was five o’clock in the morning but for the Queen it was five in the afternoon so my first job was making scones.”

In another interview, he added: “When I started as a young chef at Buckingham Palace, it was fascinating to see how important afternoon tea was to the Queen.” He revealed that she enjoyed a “full afternoon tea of sandwiches and pastries”.

“In terms of scones – one day plain and one day with raisins folded through,” he said. “Also, tiny pastries like raspberry tartlets and a cut cake, honey and cream sponge, fruit cake, banana bread, or her favourite chocolate biscuit cake. It would all be ‘washed down with a delightful steaming hot cup of Earl Grey tea.”