King Charles is said to leave prank-style Christmas gifts for staff before they get a proper present.
King Charles is said to leave prank-style Christmas gifts for staff before they get a proper present
Grant Harrold, a former royal butler for the monarch and Queen Consort Camilla, told the Daily Mirror on Wednesday (21.12.22) the tradition shows the royal family have a “fun, practical side”.
He said: “With the actual Christmas presents, I’ve been told they give fun gifts because what do you give a royal who's got everything?”
Grant added Charles, 74, would tease him by leaving jokey gifts in pigeonholes at Highgrove, where the ex-butler used to get receive the post each morning.
He said: “One time he left a tin of salmon and one year I got a salt and pepper grinder wrapped in a ribbon. He had probably been given a hamper and sometimes there would be a lot in them and he would give some of the bits to us.
“I just thought it was so bizarre because you don’t expect those little things. It shows that they’ve got that fun, practical side to them.”
He added about getting a more formal present: “For actual proper gifts would be things like tea cups and saucers or whiskey glasses. One year I got a lovely water jug.
“At Christmas, we would always get the famous Christmas card. Before he was married to the now Queen Consort, I remember getting Christmas cards from him, (Princes) William and Harry and that was always quite special.”
Grant said about returning the favour by getting Charles a Christmas card and present: “There was no point in trying to give something fancy. It’s difficult when the person has everything.
“But I knew he loves honey so I used to give him a jar of honey or honey fudge or something that I knew he would quite enjoy.”
Grant also thinks the royal give serious presents to each other, adding: “I also believe they also give each other nice gifts because even though they do the fun thing, the younger royals for example like William and (his wife) Catherine, will give each other nice gifts to each other at Christmas, I have no doubt about that at all.
“I also like to think that on Christmas Day the kids will have Father Christmas come and they will get traditional presents under the tree, I think that's probably when you will find that's when the serious presents will be given to each other.
“And I do think they give serious things but unfortunately I don’t know what unless we maybe see Catherine wearing some new jewellery or something like that.
“When I see her in a new necklace or something, I often wonder if it's a Christmas gift but we never really know unless they tell us.”
The royals are spending their first Christmas at Sandringham since 2019 this year, with a “full house” of senior members of the family set to attend festivities after the death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8 aged 96.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly planning to spend the holiday in California in the wake of the release of their ‘Harry and Meghan’ Netflix show in which it was claimed the royals suffer “unconscious” racial “bias”.
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