What do you get someone at Christmas when they already have everything they want or need? We’ve all probably wondered that about our own friends and family, so imagine what it’s like for the royals. Or at least, what it would be like for them if they hadn’t found a way to avoid this issue.
They famously stick to a tradition of gifting one another novelty gifts and joke presents instead. Many of these have been revealed in reports over the years, including the Princess of Wales’s cheeky gift to her brother-in-law before he met Meghan.
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Talking about how the tradition came to be – and how Catherine’s gift perfectly fit in – one royal expert, Emily Nash, said on the debut episode of HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, “Typically they buy things that are cheap and make people laugh; it’s not about big lavish presents, it’s about winding someone up in many cases”.
Other hilarious examples includes the gift Meghan Markle allegedly gave Prince William during her first Christmas with the royals in 2017.
Meghan – who might have already been feeling the nerves as the late Queen Elizabeth had broken a rare royal Christmas tradition for her – was lucky enough to have a “huge hit” with her gift for William, according to biography, Finding Freedom.
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The book claims, “At least one of her gifts was a huge hit – a spoon for William that had ‘cereal killer’ embossed on the shallow bowl end of the utensil.” Meghan’s gift for the late Queen Elizabeth was also reportedly a winner.
“Meghan bought a little hamster that sings with a little rope for Her Majesty,” a source said. “It was so funny, especially when the corgis tried to take hold of the toy.”
More revelations in Finding Freedom suggest that Prince Harry once gave his grandmother a rather surprising gift too: “a shower cap emblazoned with the phrase, ‘Ain’t life a b****.'” Despite being language one would hardly associate with Her Majesty, the book alleged she “loved” the gift.
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There are, of course, likely to be exceptions to the Royal Family’s present tradition. It’s believed that Prince William gifted Princess Catherine the beautiful Sézane earrings she wore on Christmas Day in 2022, for example.
The Princess of Wales also went with something more personal and heartfelt for Queen Elizabeth during her first Christmas with the family.
“I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas, and I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas gift,” the Princess told the documentary film, Our Queen at 90. “I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’ I thought back to what would I give my own grandparents, and I thought, ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong, but I decided to make my granny’s recipe of chutney.”
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Catherine, Princess of Wales
Prince Harry