Prince William intervenes in scone wars to reveal how Queen Elizabeth II took hers

By REBECCA ENGLISH, ROYAL EDITOR Published: 00:15, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 00:20, 23 May 2026 It is an age-old battle, with both sides refusing to budge. Now Prince William has entered the fray, claiming his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, preferred her scones ‘the Devonian way’ – cream then jam – as opposed to the Cornish custom of jam first. The revelation – which came, slightly awkwardly, during a trip to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in his role as Duke of Cornwall – is sure to ignite debate, since many believed the late monarch preferred the latter. That’s certainly what her former chef claimed and is how they have always served them up at Buckingham Palace garden parties, where no one, not even Her Late Majesty, complained. In an interview with Heart FM’s breakfast show with Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston, William was offered some scones and asked which way he preferred them. He said: ‘I love that I’m the authority on the scones. I can only tell you what I learned from my grandmother, and she would definitely... have the cream on first.’ However, he added: ‘It tastes delicious either way.’ While the origins of the rivalry are unclear, Cornish people believe their own clotted cream should be the crowning glory of the sweet treat, while devoted Devonians believe the cream acts as butter to stop the jam sliding off. Prince William waded into the scone debate while appearing on Heart radio's breakfast programme The Duke of Cornwall said his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, preferred her scones the 'Devonian way', with cream first then jam The prince also told the show, which was broadcast live from St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly, of his pride at the way his wife has come through her cancer battle, describing her as an ‘amazing mum and wife’. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.