Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Hungary in 1993, where Prime Minister József Antall welcomed them at the Gundel with a gala dinner for 32 guests.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip paid an official visit to Hungary in May 1993. He had always wanted to visit our country, as his great-grandmother, Countess Klaudia Rhédey, was Hungarian. The royal couple also travelled to Kecskemét and Bugac, but spent most of their time in Budapest, where they had lunch at the Gundel Restaurant, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. 

Queen Elizabeth at Gundel’s

On 5 May, at this distinguished, ceremonial event, Prime Minister József Antall and his wife hosted a luncheon in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The lunch for 32 guests began with a reception for the royal couple in the Queen Elizabeth Ballroom on the upper floor of the Gundel Palace. The choice of Gundel and the luncheon held there were particularly significant because, reportedly, this was the only formal occasion during their four-day stay when the royal couple did not eat a meal prepared by their own court chef, who had accompanied them from home.

Before the gala lunch, the kitchen prepared ten trial menus to ensure they could definitely be served within the exact time limit of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Upon arrival, the guests enjoyed their welcome drinks on the upstairs terrace. The guests were treated to a selection of special drinks, but Queen Elizabeth II simply asked for a gin and tonic. According to one account from the Gundel Palace, nobody had expected this, so Kálmán Kozma, the general manager, took the stairs three at a time down to the ground-floor bar to fulfil the request.

According to the anecdotes, the Queen remarked kindly to the restaurant owner, „We’ve heard a great deal about you!”, to which he replied, somewhat flustered, „We’ve heard a great deal about you too!” When the dessert was served at the royal lunch, upon seeing the magnificent strawberry parfait, piled high in a giant pasta crown brought in on a trolley, Queen Elizabeth II — etiquette be damned — nudged her husband with her elbow so that Prince Philip wouldn’t miss the spectacle.