Surprising royal who turns Scrooge over presents as they state ‘you shouldn’t’
As well as time-old traditions such as the bustling grand present opening at Sandringham House on Christmas Eve, or the walk to church en masse on Christmas Day, another key ingredient of the festive season for the royals - much as it is for the rest of the population - is hitting the shops and admiring the festive light displays, as they engage in some retail therapy.
But there is one Royal in particular has a famously deep-seated dislike of being gifted anything over the top or decadent on Christmas Day - and that is the King himself. As the monarch’s former butler, Grant Harrold, tells OK! that Charles always prefers friends and family to give him something that is fun, or useful - but never anything that looks like it broke the bank.
“The King hates being given anything extravagant and expensive. He’d be embarrassed if you spent a fortune on him”, he maintains. “He’d say, that’s lovely but you really shouldn’t have. So at Christmas, I used to give him books on Victorian gardening or honey-based products, because I know how much he loves honey.”
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But King Charles isn’t the only royal who likes to keep the presents low-key, snubbing extravagant gift-giving over the festive season - the entire royal family are known for being rather pragmatic about it. And if people think they only head to the most expensive shops to buy something for their nearest and dearest, they’d be mistaken - they love, for instance, snapping up a good bargain just as much as the next person.
“Everyone assumes the royals only shop in the poshest stores. But they go to the same shops that we do”, adds Grant. “I’m not saying they never go to Harrods – the late Queen did some Christmas shopping there with her cousin (the Duchess of Kent) in the 50s but she would often nip to her local shops in Ballatar village, near Balmoral. The royals enjoy a bargain. ”
Princess Kate seems to eschew posh shops, too. She has previously been pictured picking up last-minute presents at bargain homeware shop, The Range, in Sandringham.
And though money clearly isn’t an object, royal expert Duncan Larcombe claims there is just one rule when it comes to gifting within the royal family. “Each gift must be cheap and cheerful. They don’t spend much money on gifts - but they spend a lot of time thinking carefully about what to get. And the funnier and quirkier the better.”
Just like his late mother Diana before him, William and his wife Kate, try not to lavish their brood with everything on their Christmas list to Santa. “William and Kate are not indulgent,” says Duncan. “So the younger royals won’t be showered with very, very expensive gifts.” The focus, it would seem, is very much on the respecting of year-long traditions, precious time together away from the prying eyes of the world outside - and a whole lot of festive fun.
