REX USA; Getty ImagesIt'd be mighty tough to pull a fast one on Oprah Winfrey, but it seems Princess Diana managed to do just that!
Once when the two ladies were lunching, Diana let Oprah eat a fatty, mayonnaise-filled, creamy serving of tomato mousse, telling the TV mogul she was eating the same thing. Only, as Diana's personal chef Darren McGrady told the Huffington Post, the royal was actually eating a fat-free, diet version of the indulgent dish.
According to McGrady, Oprah said, "Diana, how do you stay so slim eating rich food like this?" Her not-quite-true response? "I just eat small portions and work out!"
Oprah didn't know she was being misled, said McGrady, because "Diana never did tell her the truth."
Diana made a point to eat very healthy as she overcame a reported battle with bulimia. "I want you to take care of all of the fat. I'll take care of the carbs at the gym," she told McGrady, who worked for her for four years following 11 years under Queen Elizabeth II's employ.
The people's princess was warmer and less formal than any royal who came before her, according to McGrady. "If she was on her own for lunch, she'd actually come and eat in the kitchen on the countertop," he said."I'd make a tray for her and I'd just be tidying up the kitchen and things as we were chatting...The rest of the royals would never do that."
Diana herself was "awful" when it came to cooking, McGrady told the Huffington Post, but she certainly did change how things were done in the kitchen! Someone else who married into the royal family and is doing just that? Kate Middleton.
"Tradition had it that whenever one of the royals got married, they would take one of the queen's chefs, one of mummy's chefs who knew how they liked their food," McGrady explained. "Then you have William and Kate who are saying, 'No we want to cook; we want to shop for our own food.'"
"Kate's a commoner," he added. "She loves to cook and she wants to do that. I think the princess would've been thrilled with Kate."