King Charles begins having a light lunch with just one ingredient

By India McTaggart

The King has started to incorporate a light lunch into his daily schedule, according to reports.

The monarch, 75, is known to rarely stop for a midday meal unless a royal engagement or official event requires it.

However, since his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, The Mail on Sunday has reported that King Charles now eats half an avocado with "some reluctance" to keep his strength up.

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The newspaper reports that he has broken his lifelong habit of no lunch on orders from the Queen, his aides and his doctors, who have allowed him to get back to a managed schedule of engagements since April.

A source said: "With some reluctance, he now has something to eat at lunchtime – a snack, really.

"He now eats half an avocado to sustain him through the day. It's important, particularly if you have got an illness."

Previously, the monarch was known to prefer a brisk walk to a meal if he was at one of the more rural royal residences, but the addition of half an avocado is in keeping with his light and healthy diet.

He typically enjoys a light breakfast of fruit, eggs or muesli – with a helping of linseed, according to Tina Brown's 2022 book The Palace Papers.

The monarch also prefers organic produce and previously told the BBC that he abstains from meat and fish on two days of the week, also excluding dairy on one of those days.

His newest dietary addition, however, is widely considered to be a "superfood" beloved by millennials and Gen Z, particularly when it is smashed on toast.

The fruit is full of fibre, essential nutrients and energy boosting healthy fat.

Recent figures show that the fruit's popularity is ever-increasing in the UK, with Britons buying 17.4 per cent more avocados in the year to April 2024 compared to the previous 12-month period, which marked the biggest rise for any fruit or veg.

A 'true food hero'

Last week, the King's stepson Tom Parker Bowles, a food critic and author, revealed that the monarch eats a "simple, healthy" diet, which features "resolutely seasonal food".

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The Queen's eldest child, 49, described the monarch as a "true food hero" who champions sustainability in his diet as he does in other areas of his life.

He said the King's kitchens are often filled with "seasonal bounty of the royal estates," including "game, beef and lamb," and fruits and vegetables including "peas, strawberries, raspberries and chard."

"There is no waste at [King Charles'] table," Parker Bowles added.

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