The coronation of Charles III, the “farmer-king”: numerous banquets and vegetarian recipes

There are only a few days until the highly anticipated and sumptuous coronation of King Charles III, a monarch who has always been particularly interested in the food & wine world, on May 6th at Westminster Abbey, together with his wife Camilla and 2.000 noble guests, including Royal families, Heads of state and VIPs. King Charles is an agricultural entrepreneur and has been an ecologist for decades, ambassador of the environment, and a fine gourmet. He is an Italian food and wine enthusiast (as well as historical supporter of Slow Food and an Honorary Sommelier) and has solid friendships with Italy’s great wine families, such as the Frescobaldi. Discovering the flavors and territories has been one of the common threads of his numerous trips to Italy. King Charles dedicates much attention to what is put on the table, and so there is a lot of curiosity and anticipation regarding the convivial aspects of his Coronation. To start with, his unconventional decision to abolish the traditional and sumptuous Court reception, and in its place he launched the innovative, community and democratic banquet: the Coronation Big Lunch. Immediately following the Coronation, instead, the King and Queen will enjoy a very private and exclusive lunch at Buckingham Palace (for family and senior staff only, before the famous balcony appearance). On Sunday, May 7th, across the UK, small and large groups of people - family, friends, neighbors, communities - will all celebrate together, in private gardens, in the streets and in parks, in a sort of virtual “connection” at the table across the entire Nation, where thousands of events will be taking place to celebrate a historic day and share friendship, food and fun.
The Big Lunch is an initiative that was created by the non-profit Eden Project Communities, which Queen Camilla has been sponsoring since 2013. Its goal is to use food as a means of bringing communities together. The non-profit provides a complete kit for the day (which can be downloaded on the site), with flags and decorations as well. Carlo and Camilla have chosen the official dish of the event, the “Coronation Quiche” - a vegetarian recipe made of spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon. A chef shows how to prepare the dish in a video released on the Royal Family’s official Instagram account, so that everyone can replicate it at home. And who knows, it might become as iconic as the one that marked the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the “Coronation Chicken” (chicken salad with mayonnaise and spices), served at the Monarch’s banquet in 1953. Also on May 7th, the King and Queen will enjoy a concert at Windsor Castle, together with 20.000 lucky spectators, big names in international music (Andrea Bocelli, Take That (without Robbie Williams), Katy Perry and Lionel Richie), which the BBC will broadcast live. According to polls, 3 out of 4 Britons will go to the pub on Coronation weekend, and Heineken is expecting a record 36 million pints of beer poured, in pubs allowed to stay open until 1am to celebrate the event, as well as a boom in English sparkling wines that will be poured for the occasion. For instance, the Royal Collection Coronation 2023 English Sparkling Wine, a vintage (of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) produced specifically for the Coronation at Highgrove, Carlo’s private residence since 1980. It is a limited edition, costs 45 Sterling Pounds, is part of the official collection of memorabilia created for the event, which also includes scarves and soft toys, and the proceeds will go to charity. No communication has yet leaked from Buckingham Palace about the Royal Family’s private toasts, who will certainly uncork highly prestigious bottles, since King Charles III is a wine aficionado. But, there is lots of talk about cocktails, which have always been the favorite drinks in the Royal Family (Queen Elizabeth notoriously loved Gin and Tonic, as did the Queen Mother, who died in 2002 at the age of 101, and who drank up to four a day). Buckingham Palace Gin is definitely on the official Windsor’s Beverage list. It was created in 2020 and is produced with plants harvested in the Palace gardens, under the supervision of the gardener, Mark Lane. Queen Elizabeth of England played an active role in creating it, tasting the samples proposed from time to time. Verbena, hawthorn, laurel and mulberry are a few of the twelve botanical plants selected in the gardens, and chamomile flowers are used as a floral component. Another of the favorite spirits is Taylor’s Port, which comes from the most prestigious “Quintas” (Estates) in the Alto Douro Region and holds the seal of Official Supplier of the Royal House of England. Taylor’s Vintage Classic Port is one of the best and one of the rarest of all port wines. Hine Cognac is also on the official list, one of the most prestigious in the world and the only cognac company to hold the exclusive Royal Warrant, i.e. the seal of official supplier to the Royal House. In its 250-year history, Maison Hine has established itself worldwide as specialist in vintage productions, an authentic rarity in the cognac sector. Finally, Laphroaig whiskey, which comes from one of the oldest and most famous distilleries in Scotland, on the island of Islay could also be poured into the King’s glass. Since 1994, Laphroaig has been the only Scotch whiskey to boast the Royal Warrant, a title that was conferred directly by the then Prince of Wales, a great whiskey expert and lover of Laphroaig 15 Years Old. He has shown his passion for Laphroaig on several occasions, such as to celebrate his 60th birthday or when in 2015, he and his wife Camilla attended the party for the 200th anniversary of the distillery.
Convivial commitments for Charles and Camilla will actually begin the day before the coronation. On May 5th, according to “Daily Mail”, the King and Queen will host a reception at Buckingham Palace to greet their guests. It will not be a traditional seated dinner, but rather a more informal event, though invited guests will be Royalty and Heads of State, including those who were excluded from the Coronation ceremony in Westminster, due to space. The event will definitely be a far cry from King George IV’s famous banquet in 1821, so lavish that 23 temporary kitchens were built next to Westminster Hall to produce 160 tureens of soup, along with 3.271 cold dishes.
King Charles III has always been interested in and has dedicated much of his time to agricultural issues. He is an organic food producer, rancher and winemaker at his Estate in Highgrove, Gloucestershire, where he produces a line of products called Duchy Organic - including fruit, charcuterie, eggs and jams - which are sold in Waitrose Supermarkets throughout Great Britain. King Charles III is also a strong supporter of English farmers. For instance, he launched “The Prince’s Countryside Fund”, in 2010, as Prince of Wales, to support agricultural families in the United Kingdom. King Charles has always loved Italy and its wine, food and agricultural heritage, as WineNews has reported in various interviews and articles over the years. First of all, the historical friendship of the Windsor family and the Frescobaldi family that have enjoyed relations with the English Crown for seven hundred years. The Frescobaldis are all also the historical suppliers of wine and oil to the Crown, thanks to Bona and Vittorio Frescobaldi’s personal acquaintance with the Royal House. They were included among the very few Italian guests at the wedding of William, son of Charles, to Kate Middleton, to whom they gifted a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva di Castelgiocondo. And, Charles also visited Tuscany, in 1986.
King Charles III’s connection to Italian wine blossomed in the eighties of the twentieth century, and was strengthened in 2017. As Prince of Wales, together with his partner, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall and former president of the United Kingdom Vineyards Association, in Florence, at Villa Michelangelo, he personally met many of the top leaders of Italian wine, such as Jacopo Biondi Santi, at that time head of the Greppo Biondi Santi Estate in Montalcino and his Estate in Scansano in Maremma Toscana, Castello di Montepò, Giovanni Manetti (Fontodi), in Chianti Classico, the Antinori family, Vittorio Moretti, patron of the Moretti Group (which includes Bellavista, Contadi Castaldi, in Franciacorta, Sella & Mosca in Sardinia and Teruzzi, in San Gimignano), as well as, of course, the Frescobaldi family, at the meeting that Franco Ricci, patron of the Italian Sommelier Foundation (FIS), organized and during which he awarded Charles and Camilla the diploma of Honorary Sommeliers.
A Monarch and friend of Italian wine as well as all of Italy, especially its food, wine and agriculture. Furthermore, Carlin Petrini, founder of Slow Food, knowing that Charles is highly sensitive to agricultural issues, invited him to the Salone del Gusto event, in 2004. Prince Charles of England, together with Petrini, visited the Banca del Vino, and he immediately fell in love with the Slow Food project, and enthusiastically promoted it in England. Charles and Petrini have met on various other occasions and in 2017 in Florence, Petrini invited Charles to the Magazzini del Sale, of the late chef Fabio Picchi, where Petrini told Carlo and Camilla about the value of artisan products of the territories hit by the earthquake, which devastated part of central Italy. There are numerous other anecdotes and stories to tell, such as when, in 2009 , Prince Charles entrusted the starred chef and butcher, Massimo Spigaroli, of the Antica Corte Pallavicina Restaurant, with his pigs of ancient English breeds, to understand their potential. King Charles III is an aficionado of Italian wine, mindful of environmental issues, and of traditional as well as innovative agriculture, Charles III, in May 2022, opened up to green genetics, announcing that “the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill will develop the potential of new technologies to promote efficient and sustainable agriculture and food production”.
King Charles III has always had very clear ideas on and supported issues like organic agriculture and sustainable development. Therefore, considering that the influence of the English Monarchy, in terms of visions and opinions, has a far wider reach than just the United Kingdom and the 56 countries that are part of the Commonwealth, it could mark a turning point in the relationship between agriculture, sustainability and the fight against climate change, which is the real world wide emergency.