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While life in the House of Windsor has transitioned into the reign of King Charles III in recent years, there are certain Christmas traditions that can likely be counted upon this holiday season. One among such a tradition: the light, less formal tone of the annual Christmas gift exchange. In fact, the Windsors have a penchant for giving each other cheeky gifts to celebrate the holiday because when you already own the Crown Jewels, perhaps the only thing that comes close in comparison is a hearty belly laugh.
Every year on Christmas Eve, members of the royal family gather at the Sandringham Estate where they exchange presents following afternoon tea. In the past, the now-departed Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren take part in their gift exchange on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day, in a nod to their German ancestry.
William, Kate, Meghan, and Harry at Sandringham in 2018. Samir Hussein – Getty Images
“The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor,” Prince Harry writes in his memoir Spare. “We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents. Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.”
The family has been reported to gather in the red drawing room at 6 p.m., where gifts have been secretly laid out for each family member. But that’s where the staid family traditions end because the Windsors like a gift with an admittedly silly tone.
Spare
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In Spare, Harry writes that one year, Princess Margaret gave him a fish biro (ballpoint ben). And, in 2020, Meghan gifted him with a Christmas ornament of Queen Elizabeth. “Meg had spotted it in a local store and thought I might like it. I held it to the light. It was Granny’s face to a T. I hung it on an eye-level branch. It made me happy to see her there.”
Other silly presents that have been exchanged over the years, according to The Mirror. One year Prince Harry reportedly gave his granny a shower cap that had “Ain’t Life a B****” emblazoned across the front. And it has also been reported that before Prince Harry was married Meghan Markle, his sister-in-law Kate Middleton gave him a “Grow Your Own Girlfriend” gift as a gag. Princess Anne also reportedly once gave her older brother, the then-Prince Charles, a leather toilet seat. And Princess Diana gave her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson a leopard print bath mat.
So really, the only question we have is: what will the presents be this year?
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