What ‘Spencer’ Got Wrong About Royal Family, According to Former Chef

• A royal chef says the 2021 biopic film “Spencer” got lots of details wrong about the royal family.
• Darren McGrady, who is portrayed in the film, told Insider which details were fictional. 
• “I don’t want viewers thinking that the royals were bad. They weren’t at all,” he said. 

A chef who worked for the royal households for 15 years says Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Spencer” got lots of details wrong about Princess Diana and the royal family.

The film, which weaves surrealism into its account of history, offers viewers a pre-warning that the events present “a fable from a true tragedy.”

It follows Princess Diana arriving at Sandringham House — one of Queen Elizabeth II’s private residences in Norfolk, England — in 1991 for three days of Christmas festivities.

Darren McGrady, who’s portrayed by Sean Harris in the film, worked with the royal family at Buckingham Palace for 11 years from 1982, according to his website. He then worked for Diana at Kensington Palace from 1993 until she died in 1997.

McGrady told Insider that “Spencer” is creative with its storytelling but viewers should not confuse fiction for reality. “You’ve got to keep looking for all those metaphors,” he added. 

Despite the film’s errors, Darren McGrady, a former royal chef, tweeted on March 14 that no actor has mastered Diana’s voice or mannerisms the way Kristen Stewart did, and she “100% deserves an Oscar” for her role as Diana.

He outlined details that he believes are inaccurate. 

Food for Christmas at Sandringham was not brought in military trucks, it was sourced locally

McGrady told Insider he wasn’t consulted for the film but could see traces of media interviews he had given over the years woven into the story. “Whoever’s done the research on that was like, ‘Here’s a bit about Darren McGrady, let’s read this and put it in there,'” he said.

He said he previously told a reporter that the military was used to transport cookware to and from Sandringham as it didn’t have its own kitchen budget.

The chef said this was misinterpreted in the film, which showed the military bringing in an excess of produce. “All the food was local,” he said, noting that it was also “simple food” that was ordered in reasonable quantities. 

Princess Diana wouldn’t have gotten lost since it was her 11th Christmas at Sandringham

When viewers are introduced to Diana, she is shown to be lost after…