The Royal Family's chaotic Christmas “free-for-all” sounds surprisingly unroyal but according to a former royal correspondent this is a festive tradition.
The Royal Family are known for upholding traditions and when it comes to Christmas they have many that are unique to them. From gathering at Sandringham House to the annual walk to Church in their Christmas Day best, a lot of their yuletide traditions have become very well-known. However, the Royal Family’s chaotic Christmas “free-for-all” before the big day itself is something that happens in the privacy of the royal residence in Norfolk - and it sounds rather unroyal!
According to the BBC’s former royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, the exchange of gifts is set up in a particular way. However, once everything is in place, the royals apparently descend into a flurry of present-opening, with rules out of the window.
The Royal Family are known for opening their presents on Christmas Eve and this is believed to be a sweet nod to their German heritage. Jennie believes that this tradition will definitely continue this year and described how they set out the gifts before the Royal Family’s chaotic Christmas “free-for-all” begins.
Getting candid with OK!, she explained, "The long table [is] set out with a white cloth, white name cards and mounds of presents in front of each name.”
"Then it’s suddenly a free-for-all all with everyone tearing open their gifts, which are usually chosen to amuse rather than impress,” she shared, before going on to list the types of gifts that the royals could be unwrapping in this present-opening chaos.
“Singing fish, whoopee cushions, the dafter the better,” she said, “Traditionally the adults give one another fairly daft presents. But I bet William and Kate will want to treat each other to something quite special after such a busy and successful year."
Last year, it was reported that Kate’s Christmas Day earrings from Sezane were a gift from Prince William and some of the other fun presents the royals have gifted each other over the years have been widely revealed.
In Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s book, Finding Freedom, it was alleged that the Duke of Sussex once gave the late Queen Elizabeth a shower cap with “ain't life a b****” written on it and gifted her a Big Mouth Billy Bass singing toy on another occasion.
When the Princess of Wales was deciding what to get Queen Elizabeth for her first Christmas at Sandringham, however, she went down the homemade route. She explained in the documentary, Our Queen at Ninety, that she’d thought about what her own grandmother might like as a gift.
“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. I was thinking, 'Gosh, what should I give her?’ I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents,” she said. “And I thought, 'I'll make her something.' Which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny's recipe of chutney.”
Who knows what the Princess of Wales could give as gifts this year in the Royal Family’s chaotic “free-for-all”. Whatever they end up “tearing open” on Christmas Eve, fans will no doubt just be excited to see them walking to the church together on Christmas Day.
