“She doesn’t really eat much meat,” he said. “If I were to cook for her, it’d probably be a simple piece of fish.” He added that scrambled eggs are one of her go-to dishes, and that she prefers “quite plain” food overall — nothing too spicy or garlicky.

In fact, Tom admitted that nearly 90% of the recipes in his new cookbook would be far too bold for her palate.

Despite his mother’s elevated title as Queen Consort, Tom emphasized that their relationship remains unchanged. “She’s just the same,” he said warmly. “We’re still gossiping and chatting over meals, like we always have.”

While he was quick to assert his independence — noting that he’s “never had a trust fund” and had to “work like everyone else” to establish his writing career — Tom clearly holds deep respect for his mother and the grounded lifestyle she maintains behind palace walls.

And if there was any lingering doubt: “She doesn’t smoke. She doesn’t drink gin. Never has.”

So much for the gin-and-cigarette mythology — sometimes the truth is refreshingly ordinary.