You've been eating eggs and soldiers all wrong! Etiquette expert William Hanson reveals how to consume the tricky breakfast favourite gracefully

Eggs and soldiers is a popular breakfast dish around the world – but one that, unfortunately, you've been eating all wrong.

You've probably been left shell-shocked by the debris field you've created while tackling it.

Heed the advice of etiquette expert William Hanson, and you can look forward to enjoying the dish in a tidier, more graceful fashion.

Mr Hanson, that Merlin of manners, that guru of good form, disseminates his eggs and soldiers teachings in a TikTok post that so far has amassed 1.7million views and an Instagram post with 43,000 likes.

In the clip, he instructs viewers to hold the egg cup in their non-dominant hand 'to secure it', then to 'smash the top' with a teaspoon, 'place the teaspoon down, and then using the tip of a knife, cut into the top'.

Heed the advice of etiquette expert William Hanson, and you can look forward to enjoying eggs and soldiers in a tidier, more graceful fashion. Mr Hanson disseminates his eggs and soldiers teachings in a TikTok post that so far has amassed 1.7million views and an Instagram post with 43,000 likes

He adds: 'If you need to use your teaspoon to help take the top off, so be it.'

What's next? Well, you 'pick up your soldier, toasted or untoasted, depending on your preference, dunk in [the yolk], and eat'.

Does the top of the egg have to be taken off with a knife?

Mr Hanson clarified to MailOnline Travel that it doesn't.

He said: 'This can be done with a knife or teaspoon, however you see fit and easiest.'

At the most refined hotels, should one expect a waiter or waitress to cut the top of the egg off for you?

Is it OK to pick out bits of eggshell from the yolk with one's fingers? Mr Hanson revealed that it is - 'if dining alone'

Egg-cellent technique: Mr Hanson instructs his social media viewers to hold the egg cup in their non-dominant hand 'to secure it', then to 'smash the top' with a teaspoon (left), 'place the teaspoon down, and then using the tip of a knife, cut into the top' (right)

Mr Hanson said: 'Yes, in a hotel setting it is more likely that the staff will do it for you - which helps justify the prices they charge, frankly. A private house - even staffed - is different.'

Is there an ideal number of 'soldiers'? Or is that just personal preference?

Mr Hanson said: 'This is totally a personal preference. However many soldiers can be made from one slice of bread is usual.'

Is it OK to pick out bits of eggshell from the yolk with one's fingers?

Mr Hanson revealed that under certain circumstances, this is permitted: 'We try to avoid using hands and fingers, but if no one is looking, or if dining alone, I am sure you can be forgiven for a quick finger.'

And what about mopping up egg yolk from the plate using a 'soldier'?

This is allowed 'only if dining alone', as 'mopping up sauce with bread is a touch paysan'.

For more from Mr Hanson visit his TikTok and Instagram profiles. His new book, Just Good Manners (Penguin Random House), is out on September 12, 2024. It is billed as 'a witty and authoritative guide to British etiquette', with William sharing 'his definitive guidance on how to charm and delight those around you in every situation with idiosyncratic authority'.