Kate Middleton's thoughtful gift for Queen that she was nervous to give her
Members of the Royal Family are notorious for their funny tradition of buying each other joke gifts at Christmas, with previous presents including a leather toilet seat, a 'grown your own girlfriend kit' and even a shower cap which had “Ain’t life a b****”.
While these gifts are supposed to be bizarre, there is one present that was gifted by the Princess of Wales that made for a sentimental break with tradition. Kate spoke about giving this gift to her grandmother-in-law and the nerves she felt at the time. However, she clearly triumphed in the end by looking to her own grandmother for inspiration.
Speaking in a 2016 ITV documentary in celebration of the late Queen's 90th birthday, Kate revealed what the thoughtful gift was. She explained: "I can remember being at Sandringham for the first time at Christmas. And I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present.
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"I was thinking, 'Gosh, what should I give her?' I thought back to what I would 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 for chutney.
"I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me and I've noticed since she's done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after everybody."
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Elsewhere in the documentary, Kate revealed that the late monarch had a special tradition that she followed whenever her great-grandchildren came to stay. The princess said: “[The Queen] always leaves a little gift or something in their room when we go and stay, and that just shows her love for her family.”
Kate went on to discuss how the Queen was particularly enamoured with Princess Charlotte, 8, saying: “The Queen was really thrilled that it was a little girl.
"I think as soon as we came back here to Kensington she was one of our first visitors here. I think she’s very fond of Charlotte. She’s always watching what she’s up to.”
While it is clear Kate does not struggle with gift-giving, Prince William certainly does. In 2020, William appeared on a special episode of Peter Crouch's podcast in support of the Heads Up campaign.
After the former England player confessed to buying his wife Abbey Clancy a raincoat three years running, Prince William said: "I did get my wife a pair of binoculars once - she's never let me forget that.
"That was early on in the courtship, that was - I think that sealed the deal," William added, while Peter laughed. The Prince continued: "It didn't go well. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
