BTS at the movies: 'Spencer' includes a BTS connection and highlight, The Royal Chef!

Royal Chef depicted in Spencer as sometime confident to Dianna. 

The movie "Spencer" gives new meaning to spending the holidays with the in-laws. The film depicts Princess Diana's visit to Sandringham in 1991 to join the royal family for Christmas. Coming in at just shy of two hours, "Spencer", at a plodding pace, overwrought with metaphors and fantastical imagery, often feels as though its being filmed in real time. But, there are some bright moments and, one in particular, features a BTS connection:  Dianna's sometime confident and Royal Chef, Darren McGrady, who we met in person a few years back.

In September of 2013, I met up with Darren McGrady, culinary consultant and author of the book, "Eating Royally", in Traverse City ("Meeting the Royal Chef in northern Michigan").  It was his first trip to Michigan although, at the time, he'd been living in Texas for sixteen years.  The week before his visit to northern Michigan, I interviewed him via phone for an on-line newspaper I was writing for at the time. After our call, we arranged to meet up in person at "The Taste of Traverse City" event where he'd been invited to present.

Outside Buckingham Palace where McGrady started as jr. chef

He shared many interesting stories of his time serving the Royals, and true to the movie, McGrady, who started as a junior chef at Bucking Palace and rose in ranks to be Dianna's personal chef at Kensington Palace, shared many conversations with the Princess. In fact, it was actually Dianna who inspired the Royal Chef to come to the US. She often told McGrady that they should move to America, and after her tragic death, he decided to do as Dianna suggested, even after Prince Charles had made him an offer of employment.

Kensington Palace where McGrady became Dianna's personal chef

In our chat with McGrady, he also confirmed the Royal family's tradition of opening up presents on Christmas Eve, as depicted in the movie. Although - our scoop from almost a decade ago - "only after tea"!

In recent articles, the Royal Chef, has noted that there are some truths in the movie, but a lot of fiction as well. In last month's interview in the New York Post, McGrady - although he is the only palace staff member mentioned by name in "Spencer" - says he was not at all consulted for the film. He adds, "maybe because they'd have to pay me".

Darren McGrady has authored two books, including Eating Royally

"Spencer" is a gloomy, almost gothic tale where Sandringham, as a few movie reviewers have noted, resembles images from "The Shining" (WSJ: Spencer Review; The Guardian: Spencer Review). However, it does *spoiler alert* end on a lighter note, with Dianna taking her two sons to a fast-food drive-thru. This activity, not typically thought of as one engaged by the Royals, is confirmed by McGrady in his recent YouTube talk as well as his interview with Marie Claire (2017):

"I remember the Princess came into the kitchen one day and said 'Cancel lunch for the boys. I'm taking them out, we're going to McDonald's. And, I said, 'Oh my god your royal highness, I can do that, I can do hamburgers.' And, she said, 'No, it's the toy they want'."

A happy meal ending to an unhappy "fable based on real events". As McGrady told the New York Post, he prefers to "treasure the memories of the joyful occasions left out of the. . . film". 

And, we treasure our Princess Dianna connection with Darren McGrady, Royal Chef, author of Eating Royally and "a fellow afternoon tea enthusiast".