Cancer can wait; a good plate of Calcutta biryani cannot.

England’s King Charles III, 76, who is battling the dreaded disease, and Queen Camilla packed up a takeaway chicken biryani on a visit to see Asma Khan at her restaurant Darjeeling Express in Carnaby Street, London.

Asma, the rockstar chef-restaurateur who grew up in Calcutta, wrote on her social media: “Today the King and Queen joined us at @darjeelingldn for a pre-Ramadan gathering where they packed dates and biryani- and yes they took some biryani home!”

She added: “In a visit ahead of Ramadan the King saw how the deli was cooking for charitable causes.When he proved to be quick at packing up dates, Charles was told he could have a job there every year, to which he replied: ‘I may be past my sell-by date’.”

The royal family’s Instagram handle wrote: “Traditionally, dates are eaten as the first food to break the fast at sunset during Ramadan. Their Majesties helped pack dates that will be sent to local hospitals for Iftaar during the holy month.”

The royal family has known Asma, who studied in La Martiniere and Loreto College in Calcutta, for a while now.

Asma – who had told The Telegraph My Kolkata “If my life were a dish, I’d be a Kolkata biryani” – was invited to attend a reception for Britain’s humanitarian workers thrown by the royal family in November 2023.

From Bridgerton actress Simone Ashley to Marvel’s onscreen Ant-Man Paul Rudd, Asma Khan and Darjeeling Express are a favourite of many celebrities.

There is delicious irony in England's king ordering Calcutta biryani, a dish that was born when the last nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled to Calcutta by the British.