There’s a royal Christmas tradition that Prince William and Kate could reportedly want to change one day, despite it being upheld for decades.
Christmas is a time for enjoying quality time with your loved ones and family traditions are part of what makes the festive season so special. The Royal Family have their own customs that they uphold year after year, from gathering at Sandringham House to giving each other humorous presents. However, whilst we can’t imagine these particular traditions fading away, there’s another one that Prince William and Kate reportedly might not be as keen to continue with when they’re King and Queen.
Getting candid about the couple’s approach to the festivities, the BBC’s former royal correspondent Jennie Bond has suggested to OK! that they could want to change the tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve.
This is something the royals have done for decades and it’s reportedly a sweet nod to their German heritage, as Christmas presents are typically opened on 24th December in Germany. In Jennie’s opinion, Kate and William might already open a few presents the next day at Anmer Hall.
"They are lucky because they have their own home close to Sandringham so they’ve always been able to wake up there, do stockings and presents and then go over to the big house for the more formal celebrations," she claimed. "I suspect that when they are King and Queen a lot of traditions will change - and the exchange of presents on Christmas Eve may well be one of them."
Although the royal Christmas tradition of opening gifts on the 24th has been upheld since Queen Victoria’s reign, it’s possible that Prince William and Kate might choose to change things up in the future as they forge their own path as King and Queen.
The Princess of Wales no doubt grew up opening gifts on 25th December like so many people who celebrate Christmas in the UK. She and Prince William might want Prince George, Charlotte and Louis to experience this at some point too, especially if they spend time with the Middletons on Christmas Day.
Jennie doesn’t believe that the Prince and Princess of Wales "worry particularly about how they’re perceived at Christmas", adding that she does think that they "want to do things in a more normal way". A traditional royal Christmas is quite a formal affair, with them all enjoying a black tie dinner on Christmas Eve and then getting dressed up in their festive best and walking to church the next morning.
They sit down to a delicious Christmas dinner of roast turkey and all the trimmings, but are said to gather later on for a rather unusual-sounding dinner. Writing in the Mail on Sunday back in 2017, former royal chef Darren McGrady alleged that when he worked for the Royal Family their Christmas Day evening meal included a stuffed boar’s head and ox tongue.
"Served at 8.15pm, and preceded by the requisite aperitif from 7.45pm, it is laid out in the dining room. But there is not a sausage roll or Quality Street in sight," Darren stated. "When I was there it was traditional, Old English cuisine: a stuffed boar’s head on platters, ox tongue and boiled and roasted hams, salmon and game."
The menu might have changed and become a little less old-fashioned since then to include some more contemporary and child-friendly favourites. One thing that likely will be the same, though, is the afternoon tea which the royals are believed to eat every day and the Christmas edition includes scrumptious festive treats.
"There will be Christmas cake, a chocolate yule log, mince pies with brandy butter, scones and more sandwiches," Darren said.
