The British Royal Family is known for its tradition of giving "joke" Christmas gifts to one another. But according to Prince Harry, one member of the family went a step too far with the present they gave him one year.
According to Hello! magazine, Prince Harry shared in his book, Spare, that Princess Margaret once gave him a ballpoint "pen with a small rubber fish wrapped around it, which he described as a 'cold-blooded' gift." The Duke of Sussex subsequently revealed that his relationship with Margaret wasn't very good, and that he felt "nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness."
Despite not being a fan of Margaret's gift, it's clear that Prince Harry has continued some of the Royal Family's Christmas traditions since he moved to Los Angeles.
Describing Christmas Eve in Montecito with Meghan Markle, Harry wrote in Spare, "We FaceTimed with several friends, including a few in Britain. We watched Archie running around the tree. And we opened presents. Keeping to the Windsor family tradition." He continued, "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."
In a recent interview with Marie Claire's Senior Royal Editor, Kristin Contino, former royal butler Paul Burrell—speaking on behalf of Spin Genie—revealed that he once "gave [Princess Diana] a pair of Chanel costume jewelry earrings." He further explained how he "thought that was a good choice for her as she loved those chunky earrings." However, Burrell realized he should never give Diana "earrings with intertwined Cs, which would have been a bad mistake," as it reportedly made her think of Charles and Camilla's relationship.
Designer Jayson Brundson confirmed Princess Diana's dislike of the Chanel logo in a 2018 interview with Harper's Bazaar Australia. "She came out holding like handfuls of shoes and bags and just dumped them all down on the couch," Brundson said. Referring to a pair of Chanel shoes, Brundson explained, "I said, 'Well these would look great with the Versace,' and she said 'No, I can't wear linked Cs, the double C.' So I asked why, and she said, 'It's Camilla and Charles.'"
