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The Independent
02-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Many Germans believe Frederick the Great brought potatoes to the country. It's not true
Generations of Germans credit Frederick the Great with introducing the beloved potato to the nation, but the popular legend reveals a surprising twist: the 18th-century Prussian monarch had to resort to cunning to convince his subjects to embrace the tuber. Despite potatoes having arrived in Europe from South America in the 16th century, the people of Prussia, a region that would later form part of a united Germany, were initially reluctant to consume the new crop. Faced with this resistance, King Frederick II devised an ingenious plan. He strategically positioned royal guards and soldiers around his palace garden, where the potatoes were cultivated. This created the deliberate illusion that the spuds were a rare and highly prized commodity, reserved exclusively for the royal family and their aristocratic circle. However, each night, the guards would discreetly withdraw from their posts, providing an irresistible opportunity for enterprising locals to sneak in and "steal" the supposedly valuable tubers, thereby spreading their consumption across the land. Thus began Germany's love affair with the humble Kartoffel and Frederick's rebranding as Der Kartoffelkönig, the potato king. Except it's all fake. Bogus. Phony. Falsch! as the Germans would say. And debunking it is a royal pain for Jürgen Luh, historian of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation, even when history has receipts. Archives of royal menus show the king instead had a penchant for Italian food and French wine. 'He never ate it,' Luh said. 'Any potato. Not boiled, not fried.' The unexciting truth is that the potato has been cultivated in Germany's Bavarian region since 1647, Luh said. Frederick's great-grandfather, Elector Frederick William, introduced it to the Brandenburg area of Prussia in the 1650s, but only because he liked the aesthetics of the plant's leafy greens. By the time Frederick the Great took the throne in 1740, the potato was grown in gardens throughout Prussia but not on a large scale. The king did actually issue royal decrees promoting the farming and production of potatoes, but his people ignored them. Potatoes did not become widespread in Prussia, in central and eastern Europe, until after the Napoleonic wars ended in 1815, after Frederick II's death in 1786. The guarded garden story, Luh said, is nonsense. And Frederick was more of a wannabe potato king than an actual one. But the fable has deep roots, and the myth makes money. To this day, visitors to Frederick's summer home of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, outside Berlin, leave raw potatoes and paper crowns on the king's grave. The palace's gift shops sell potato merchandise, from postcards and children's books to a 35-euro ($40) apron proclaiming the wearer as a Kartoffelkönig. Luh used to correct tour guides and visitors to the palace, but he's largely given up. Besides, he said, at least it means people are coming to Sanssouci and experiencing its rich history. 'The fact is that the legend has beaten the truth and the legend is just too beautiful,' he added. Whatever its roots, the potato is undeniably part of the German cultural identity. At Biohof Schöneiche, an organic farm outside Berlin, workers will harvest roughly 2,500 metric tons (5.5 million pounds) of potatoes come the annual September harvest. 'In most parts of the world, potatoes are considered a vegetable. In Germany it's a staple food,' general manager Axel Boehme said. ' People cannot imagine to have a meal without potatoes.' Regional recipes, passed down from every Oma (grandmother) to each new generation, debate the merits of a vinegar- or mayo-based Kartoffelsalat. From boiled (Salzkartoffeln) or pan-fried (Bratkartoffeln) to dumplings and pancakes (Kartoffelklösse and Kartoffelpuffer), the versatile vegetable is intertwined with the country's emotional heritage. For Anke Schoenfelder, project manager for German potato marking company Kartoffel-Marketing GmbH, her favorite tuber tradition is rooted in making Kartoffel-Karotten-Gugelhupf (potato and carrot Bundt cake) for family gatherings. 'Taste is memory, right? And when this is related to your family, this is even more part of your identity,' she said. Plus, Schoenfelder added, the potato can be used as a beauty product — the juice can be good for your skin, she says — or a household cleaner, for stubborn stains on the bottom of your oven. For now, Der Kartoffelkönig's legend lives on. As Luh was speaking to The Associated Press in front of the king's grave, two tourists placed their offerings of potatoes on the tomb. One even took a selfie as she did so. 'I always think I should go here in the evening when I have no potatoes at home,' the historian joked. 'I could take them away and have a good meal afterwards.' Kartoffel-Karotten-Gugelhupf (potato and carrot Bundt cake) From Kartoffel-Marketing GmbH, a German potato marking company. In true European fashion, the measurements provided refer to weight, not volume. You will need a 10-cup Bundt pan. Time: 90 minutes Serves: 12 Ingredients 9 oz (250g) high-starch potatoes (such as Russets and Maris Pipers) 9 oz (250g) carrots 1.7 fluid ounces (50 mL) carrot juice 1.7 fluid ounces (50 mL) sunflower oil 4 eggs (medium-size, room temperature) 7 oz (200g) sugar 1 packet vanilla sugar 4.5 oz (125g) almonds, ground 4.5 oz (125g) flour melted butter to grease the mold 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs Directions Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water for about 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Let them cool slightly, peel them, and then press them through a potato ricer into a bowl. Wash and peel the carrots and grate them finely with the potatoes, using a vegetable grater or a mandolin. Generously grease the Bundt pan with oil or butter. Coat the pan with some breadcrumbs. Preheat oven to 392°F (200°C) on the fan setting. Add carrot juice, sunflower oil, eggs, vanilla sugar, sugar, flour, baking powder and ground almonds to the mashed potatoes and grated carrots and mix with a hand mixer for about four minutes until a dough forms. Pour the potato-carrot cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until cooked through (if necessary, cover the pan with aluminum foil after half an hour to prevent the cake from burning). Let the cake cool completely (you can also do this on a balcony or terrace) before decorating it with icing. This is important, because otherwise the icing will seep into the cake. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and a little lemon juice until thickened. Pour the icing over the cooled cake and decorate with your preferred toppings like chocolate chips, for example. Let it rest a bit to allow the icing to set.
Rhyl Journal
30-06-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Monarchy set to receive £132m for second year in a row in 2026-27
Record offshore wind farm profits mean the Crown Estate net profits for the last financial year have again hit £1.1 billion. The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family's official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, is met from public funds in exchange for the King's surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate, two years in arrears. The monarchy is already receiving an increase in the current 2025-26 financial year, with around £132 million in Sovereign Grant funding – £45.7 million more than the £86.3 million in 2024-25, thanks to £1.1 billion Crown Estate profits in 2023-24. This puts the total extra over the next two years (2025-26 and 2026-27) at £91.4 million. But Crown Estate profits are set to drop back sharply in the future as the short-term boost from offshore wind farms fades. The 'temporary uplift' to the Sovereign Grant will be used to help fund the remaining £100 million of the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, but also for an enhanced programme of works at other occupied royal palaces after the Covid pandemic halted progress. James Chalmers, the King's new Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: 'The temporary uplift in the grant will also help repay the shortfalls from the years during which the Sovereign Grant remained fixed at £86 million, and to finance, among other projects, an enhanced programme of works to protect and preserve heritage buildings across the Occupied Royal Palaces. 'Many of these works fell out of scope of the reservicing programme and had to be paused as a consequence of the Covid impact and budgetary constraints. 'In funding their completion, the Royal Household is able to invest in the protection and preservation of properties held in trust for the nation, while supporting skilled jobs in conservation and traditional crafts across the UK.' The Sovereign funding was reduced from 25% to 12% of the Crown Estate's net profit in 2023, in a review of royal finances by Royal Trustees, to take account of huge profits from offshore wind farm deals. The King asked for the extra profits to be used for the wider public good, but he will still receive more than £90 million extra. Predictions in the 2023 review had set the expected Crown Estate profits in 2023-24 as £1.04 billion and 2024-25 as £1.05 billion. The total Sovereign Grant for 2024/25, relating to Crown Estate profits in 2022/23, remained flat at £86.3 million because of a caveat which means it cannot fall below current levels. The Crown Estate is a multibillion-pound property, land and rights portfolio which includes Regent Street in London's West End and Ascot Racecourse.
South Wales Guardian
30-06-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Monarchy set to receive £132m for second year in a row in 2026-27
Record offshore wind farm profits mean the Crown Estate net profits for the last financial year have again hit £1.1 billion. The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family's official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, is met from public funds in exchange for the King's surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate, two years in arrears. The monarchy is already receiving an increase in the current 2025-26 financial year, with around £132 million in Sovereign Grant funding – £45.7 million more than the £86.3 million in 2024-25, thanks to £1.1 billion Crown Estate profits in 2023-24. This puts the total extra over the next two years (2025-26 and 2026-27) at £91.4 million. But Crown Estate profits are set to drop back sharply in the future as the short-term boost from offshore wind farms fades. The 'temporary uplift' to the Sovereign Grant will be used to help fund the remaining £100 million of the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, but also for an enhanced programme of works at other occupied royal palaces after the Covid pandemic halted progress. James Chalmers, the King's new Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: 'The temporary uplift in the grant will also help repay the shortfalls from the years during which the Sovereign Grant remained fixed at £86 million, and to finance, among other projects, an enhanced programme of works to protect and preserve heritage buildings across the Occupied Royal Palaces. 'Many of these works fell out of scope of the reservicing programme and had to be paused as a consequence of the Covid impact and budgetary constraints. 'In funding their completion, the Royal Household is able to invest in the protection and preservation of properties held in trust for the nation, while supporting skilled jobs in conservation and traditional crafts across the UK.' The Sovereign funding was reduced from 25% to 12% of the Crown Estate's net profit in 2023, in a review of royal finances by Royal Trustees, to take account of huge profits from offshore wind farm deals. The King asked for the extra profits to be used for the wider public good, but he will still receive more than £90 million extra. Predictions in the 2023 review had set the expected Crown Estate profits in 2023-24 as £1.04 billion and 2024-25 as £1.05 billion. The total Sovereign Grant for 2024/25, relating to Crown Estate profits in 2022/23, remained flat at £86.3 million because of a caveat which means it cannot fall below current levels. The Crown Estate is a multibillion-pound property, land and rights portfolio which includes Regent Street in London's West End and Ascot Racecourse.
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Monarchy set to receive £132m for second year in a row in 2026-27
The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family's official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, is met from public funds in exchange for the King's surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate, two years in arrears. Members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Ben Birchall/PA) The monarchy is already receiving an increase in the current 2025-26 financial year, with around £132 million in Sovereign Grant funding – £45.7 million more than the £86.3 million in 2024-25, thanks to £1.1 billion Crown Estate profits in 2023-24. This puts the total extra over the next two years (2025-26 and 2026-27) at £91.4 million. But Crown Estate profits are set to drop back sharply in the future as the short-term boost from offshore wind farms fades. The 'temporary uplift' to the Sovereign Grant will be used to help fund the remaining £100 million of the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, but also for an enhanced programme of works at other occupied royal palaces after the Covid pandemic halted progress. James Chalmers, the King's new Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: 'The temporary uplift in the grant will also help repay the shortfalls from the years during which the Sovereign Grant remained fixed at £86 million, and to finance, among other projects, an enhanced programme of works to protect and preserve heritage buildings across the Occupied Royal Palaces. The East Wing of Buckingham Palace opened to visitors last year as part of the next phase of reservicing (Jonathan Brady/PA) 'Many of these works fell out of scope of the reservicing programme and had to be paused as a consequence of the Covid impact and budgetary constraints. 'In funding their completion, the Royal Household is able to invest in the protection and preservation of properties held in trust for the nation, while supporting skilled jobs in conservation and traditional crafts across the UK.' The Sovereign funding was reduced from 25% to 12% of the Crown Estate's net profit in 2023, in a review of royal finances by Royal Trustees, to take account of huge profits from offshore wind farm deals. The King asked for the extra profits to be used for the wider public good, but he will still receive more than £90 million extra. Predictions in the 2023 review had set the expected Crown Estate profits in 2023-24 as £1.04 billion and 2024-25 as £1.05 billion. The total Sovereign Grant for 2024/25, relating to Crown Estate profits in 2022/23, remained flat at £86.3 million because of a caveat which means it cannot fall below current levels. The Crown Estate is a multibillion-pound property, land and rights portfolio which includes Regent Street in London's West End and Ascot Racecourse.
Telegraph
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Royal family's thrifty attitude to fashion on display
The King is known for his thrifty approach to fashion, while the Princess of Wales recently described the joy she gets from being able to keep her children's clothes and pass them down. Now, an exhibition at Kensington Palace will show how such attitudes towards reusing and rewearing garments have been a mainstay within the Royal family for generations. From one of Queen Victoria's mourning dresses passed down to a servant, to a dress worn by Elizabeth II as a child before being painstakingly repaired and a ceremonial uniform reused and repaired for five decades, Dress Codes illustrates how even the most privileged in society have long valued clothing. Visitors will see the Duke of Windsor's tartan suit, which he inherited from his father, George V, in 1936 and then modernised and wore for at least another 20 years, displayed alongside evening gowns worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, who later put them up for auction to give them a new lease of life. Matthew Storey, curator for Historic Royal Palaces, said he hoped the exhibition would help modern audiences look back and 'relearn' how older generations valued and reused their clothes. Speaking of the modern scourge of fast fashion, he said: 'We're always talking about sustainability. It's so much of a concern nowadays. But actually, we're not inventing it. This is about looking back to what our grandparents' generation knew instinctively and what they did. 'So it's about relearning what was there, what for centuries people did. They had the skills to make clothes last.' Mr Storey said he hoped the exhibition might encourage visitors to think about the various ways clothes can be recycled and the stories older garments can tell. 'Clothing and textiles these days are so much cheaper with mass production,' he added. 'For much of human history, textiles were very valuable and everything was handmade. So people valued every scrap of fabric – that's why they repurposed clothes, they remade clothes, they did patchwork…' Dress Codes looks at the messages members of the Royal family, as well as palace visitors, choose to convey through their clothing, the unwritten 'codes' of power dressing and the many factors that go into deciding what to wear abroad, such as climate and culture. More than three years in the making, there are 34 items on show, of which 15 have never been displayed anywhere before. The first item on display is a red Bruce Oldfield gown worn by the late Princess of Wales during an official visit to Saudi Arabia in 1986 and which was among 17 dresses she sold at Christie's in 1997, raising $3.2 million for HIV, Aids and cancer charities. 'This is her working wardrobe and she put it to work one last time by selling (it) for charities she cares about,' Mr Storey said. 'This is something she did as well in her lifetime. She put these clothes on mannequins, sold copies of the catalogue and put them out into the world.' A postillion's ceremonial uniform, worn by grooms leading the royal carriages, was first worn during Edward VII's reign in 1902 but was repaired and reworn repeatedly over five decades, with a new cypher added for use during Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation, when heavy rain meant the dye from the blue velvet bled into the red wool. The names of its various wearers have been written and crossed out in the lining. Elsewhere is a gown thought to have been worn to Queen Victoria's 1700-themed ball in June 1845. The point of the ball was to promote the British silk industry, so each of the 1,200 guests would have to buy new clothes. 'This visitor, by reusing 18th-century silk, slightly undermined that, but set us a wonderful example for sustainability and reuse as well,' Mr Storey said. One of several items that has never before been on public display is black bodice worn by Victoria soon after her husband Albert's death. 'It's the rarest of the rare,' said Mr Storey. 'Very little clothing of hers survives from the 1870s, probably because she didn't see much point in preserving them. 'This, luckily, was given to a servant of a royal household and was passed down with his family, which is why it survived.' The garment speaks to her 'complete emotional devastation', he added. It was acquired by Historic Royal Palaces at auction in 2018 and Mr Storey explained that was quite common for royal clothing to be passed on to servants, either to reuse the fabric or keep as a souvenir. 'It would have been worth having,' Mr Storey said. 'There was much more of a culture of second-hand clothing in the past, because the textiles were so much more expensive than the mass produced textiles we wear today.' Among three pieces of clothing on display worn by the Duke of Windsor – a man well known for his sartorial choices – is an 1897 Rothesay Hunting tartan suit inherited from his father and altered to include a modern zip fly and lower buttonholes. Two matching Liberty print floral cotton dresses, worn in 1936 by a young Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, offer a fascinating insight into their household, with a handsewn hem and fabric let out at the waistband. 'If you read about Queen Elizabeth's upbringing, there was a certain kind of resourcefulness and thriftiness,' Mr Storey said. 'She even saved and reused wrapping paper. But it's something that everybody in the 1930s knew how to do.' Dress Codes opens to the public on March 13 and will run until Nov 30.
