The British Embassy tried to give the internet a tasteful behind-the-scenes look at afternoon tea for King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s U.S. visit. The internet looked at the sandwiches and chose violence.
A video posted to X showed embassy kitchen staff preparing a traditional British tea menu for the royal visit. Head chef Craig Harnden explained that the spread included scones with clotted cream and four kinds of sandwiches: Scottish smoked salmon on brown bread with lemon butter and black pepper, egg mayonnaise, roast beef with horseradish and cucumber.
The meal was being prepared for 650 people. That detail did not save it from the comments. “Is this a joke?” one X user wrote. “This looks like every work bought lunch sandwich buffet.”
Fans Said The Menu Looked Too Plain For A King
The reaction was brutal, mainly because Americans already love making fun of British food. A royal visit menu featuring simple tea sandwiches was never going to escape untouched.
Some users asked whether the crusts would be removed. Others complained that the bread did not look properly buttered. A few seemed baffled that King Charles and Queen Camilla would be served the kind of food they could already get at home.
“If I were visiting a country I would want to try their food not more of what I eat daily,” one commenter wrote. “The US has so many cultures blended that you could fill the entire menu and never scratch the surface.”
There were some defenders. One person wrote, “Looks delicious! I love a good afternoon tea.”
Still, the louder reaction was clear: people expected something grander for a king.
Feeding 650 People Is Not Exactly Simple
The menu may have looked basic to viewers, but the logistics were not small.
Harnden said the embassy staff was making more than 3,000 sandwiches for the event. That is a serious operation, even if the final product looks like something from a very polite office lunch.
It also matters that this was afternoon tea, not a formal state banquet. Afternoon tea is supposed to be lighter and more casual, usually built around small sandwiches, scones and sweets.
The roast beef sandwich also had a diplomatic angle. Harnden said British beef had been freshly imported through a new trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom. He also said the cucumber sandwiches were made with lightly pickled cucumbers to add sweetness and acidity.
The Chef Has Serious Credentials
Harnden is not some random guy making sandwiches in a basement.
Before joining the British Embassy staff in 2011, he worked in luxury resorts and Michelin-starred kitchens. The menu may have looked simple, but it was clearly planned around tradition, scale and diplomacy.
King Charles and President Donald Trump also have very different food preferences. Charles is known for avoiding some meats and favoring sustainably sourced food, while Trump is famously associated with fast food and well-done steaks.
So yes, the sandwiches became a joke online. But preparing a traditional tea for hundreds of guests during a royal state visit is more complicated than it looks.
The internet, of course, does not care. It saw cucumber sandwiches and immediately asked: seriously, for the King?
