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Princess Diana revealed her favourite dish was a Ukrainian beetroot soup in unearthed letters

Princess Diana once revealed that her favourite dish was a Ukrainian beetroot soup [Image: Getty]
Princess Diana once revealed that her favourite dish was a Ukrainian beetroot soup [Image: Getty]

With personal chefs on hand, it might be expected that members of the royal family would have expensive tastes when it came to cooking.

But unearthed letters have revealed how Princess Diana’s favourite dish was actually a humble Ukrainian beetroot soup.

The revelation was made after a care home charity in Johannesburg wrote to famous people asking for their most-loved recipes for a charity project in 1981 - the year she married Prince Charles.

One of the individuals to write back was the late royal, and her response was put into a cook book by Avil Elizabeth Home for the Mentally Handicapped and sold locally.

The royal revealed she was a fan of "Borsch" [Image: SWNS]
The royal revealed she was a fan of "Borsch" [Image: SWNS]

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In the unseen correspondence - which has recently been rediscovered by a visitor to the home - Diana admitted she was a fan of Borscht.

The letter, penned by a staff member, said she liked the dish to contain "beetroot, yogurt, onion, chicken stock, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper".

However, one of those who refused the charity’s request was Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

An aide responded that it was “not possible” for her favourite meal to be publicly released due to official rules.

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The letters were found by Pauline Barnes, 60, when she got chatting to care home worker Angeline Hopley, who curated the cookbook.

Amazed by their contents, she sent them to her son Michael Stanley, 39, from London.

Of his mother’s discovery, the training director said: “It’s only a local charity in South Africa and the book will have only been sold in the community.

“These letters will have never been seen before.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother could not disclose her most-loved dish due to "a rule" [Image: SWNS]
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother could not disclose her most-loved dish due to "a rule" [Image: SWNS]

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"They sent lots of letters out to famous people and Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher were two of the people who responded.

“It’s nice to see they reached out to a small charity.

"South Africa is a former colonial country and the Royal Family is popular in the country.”

The book also contained the favourite recipes of Princess Grace of Monaco, while the then-Prime Minister’s response revealed she liked to put orange juice in her walnut cake.

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Michael added: “It is funny that Queen Elizabeth wouldn’t send her meal. The reason seems very secret and I do wonder why.”

He continued: “I like how Princess Diana’s is a humble dish. You’d expect the royal family to eat posh meals but this is very basic.

“It’s great they got back to the charity, it was a nice thing to do. It was a charitable issue.

“The royal family are always very well received in South Africa and I’m sure this went down well.”

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