Craig Harnden, head chef at the U.S. British Embassy in Washington, D.C., has revealed what he made for King Charles and Queen Camilla during the first day of their state visit to the U.S.
On Monday, Harnden and his team prepared an afternoon tea for more than 650 guests in the embassy’s garden. Notable figures in attendance besides Charles and Camila included former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Ted Cruz and U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
On X, the British Embassy said its menu included “four kinds of tea sandwiches, scones, desserts and several British flavors from smoked Scottish salmon to British Beef.”
The Embassy also shared a video of the preparations, featuring an interview with Harnden. “We’ll be making approximately 2,500 to 3,000 individual sandwiches,” the chef said as his team assembled rows of sandwiches in the kitchen. “The calculation is based on experience or a little bit of luck.”
The first sandwich featured Scottish smoked salmon, lemon butter and brown bread. Harnden then prepared a roast beef and horseradish sandwich, which he noted was not a traditional flavor for an afternoon tea.
“We do have the first imports of British beef, which I’m more than happy to use for this special occasion,” he explained. “Bend the rules a little bit.”
The third sandwich was an egg mayonnaise, made with boiled eggs, a touch of mayonnaise, salt and black pepper. The fourth option, a cucumber sandwich, had slightly pickled cucumbers. “So there’s sweetness and acidity into the sandwich, which makes it a little more interesting,” Harnden explained.
Aside from sandwiches, the Embassy kitchen served hundreds of scones for the afternoon tea. “So we’ll bake the scones about an hour and a half before service, so nice and fresh and warm,” Harnden said. “Clotted cream, strawberry jam and a nice strawberry on top. Done.”
On Monday, Charles and Camilla landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a short distance from Washington, D.C. They went on to have a private tea with Donald and Melania Trump in the White House Green Room, followed by the garden party.
Charles will address Congress on Tuesday, marking only the second time a British monarch has done so — after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He is expected to say that while the U.K. and the U.S. have not always agreed on everything, they have “always found ways to come together” amid strains to the “special relationship” from the Iran war.
Charles and Camilla are set to travel to New York City Wednesday, where they will visit the 9/11 memorial, marking the approach of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
As part of a visit to the New York Public Library’s permanent treasures collection, the Queen will give a specially made toy of Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to the library to complete a set of the beloved characters in one of the institution’s collections.
The historic trip is the King’s first to the U.S. as monarch and the first state visit of any British monarch since 2007. The occasion also marks the 250th anniversary of American independence.