Princess Diana took on juicing in the Nineties as one of the means to maintain a healthy lifestyle, her former chef Darren McGrady has claimed. The late Princess of Wales underwent lifestyle changes in the mid-Nineties, in particular following her split with Prince Charles, according to the chef.

Mr McGrady said Diana was particularly careful with ingredients used in her meals and eager to try new food trends.

Among them, she studied juicing, Mr McGrady claimed.

He told Mashed: “She was juicing before, I think, anybody had even heard of it.”

The royal would often explore new combinations of fruits and vegetables to use in her juices.

But the princess did make a serious mistake while looking for a healthy and tasty juice, Mr McGrady recalled.

Diana asked for an all-beet juice to benefit her skin.

Despite the chef saying he had tried to talk the late princess out of this and suggested mixing the beets with apple juice or celery, she insisted on drinking only beets.

The day before the Trooping the Colour parade marking the Queen’s official birthday, Mr McGrady gave in and prepared the juice requested by the princess.

READ MORE: Zara Tindall stuns with Mike and children at christening

But Diana experienced an unwanted reaction to the juice.

Mr McGrady claimed: “[Princess Diana] came in [to the kitchen] an hour later, and her face was all blotchy!

“I think it was a reaction to the beets.

“And she said, ‘You poisoned me.’

DON’T MISS 

“I said, ‘It’s the beet juice!'”

Mr McGrady recalled Diana’s skin cleared out after she drank “loads of water”.

He added: “She was fine after that.

“But after then, we’d start mixing it with apple juice.

“So she had the beets and apple juice.”

Mr McGrady joined the kitchen staff at Buckingham Palace in 1982, where he cooked on a daily basis for the Queen and Prince Philip and prepared grand meals for state visits and official ceremonies.

In 1993, he moved to Kensington Palace and cooked meals for Princess Diana, Prince Charles and their children Harry and William.

He remained at the princess’ service until her death in 1997.

Mr McGrady previously opened up on the more informal style he could adopt working for Princess Diana, who even offered to make a coffee for him not to interrupt his work.

The former royal chef also revealed how he would trick the Queen into choosing the pudding he knew Diana loved every time the Princess of Wales was having lunch with the monarch.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel earlier this month, he said: “I always suggested two puddings for the menu – Diana’s favourite and one the Queen didn’t like so I knew the Queen would pick the Bread and Butter Creme souffle.

“It worked every time and the Princess got it whenever she visited the Queen.”