What kind of gift do you buy for the royal who has everything? Apparently, something way less extravagant than you might assume, according to one royal insider. Each member of The Firm has their own habits and preferences when it comes to holiday shopping, but they all seem to have one big thing in common: They aren’t all that different from the rest of us when shopping for Christmas gifts for our loved ones.
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Don’t think the royals require fancy gifts.
That’s especially true of King Charles, according to what his former butler, Grant Harrold, told The Mirror.
“The King hates being given anything extravagant and expensive. He’d be embarrassed if you spent a fortune on him,” he said, adding that his typical gifts for the king were items like “books on Victorian gardening or honey-based products because I know how much he loves honey.”
Rather than shop in fancy stores, the royals 'enjoy a bargain.'
And they do their own gift shopping, right there alongside the public.
“The royals are very discreet,” Grant said. “They always have a bodyguard for protection, but people don’t recognise them because you don’t expect to see a king or a future queen browsing in your local store.”
They also shop online.
“The younger ones, especially, are very savvy with online shopping, making Christmas shopping easier,” Grant said. “I can easily see Kate, William and even Anne wrapping their own presents but not the King. He’ll have someone do that for him.”
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The royals are known for giving each other gag gifts.
But Grant said he thinks some “serious gifts” are given, too, especially where George, Charlotte, and Louis are concerned. After all, it would be a bummer if they missed out on the magic of Christmas!
“You’ll see the royal ladies wearing a new necklace and you’ll just know it was a Christmas present,” he said. “And, of course, Santa still visits Sandringham. I like to think that on Christmas Day morning the children will have lots of presents in their stockings or under the tree.”
It sounds like they have a lot to look forward to this holiday season.
With Kate’s carol service behind her, the next big event on the agenda for the royals this holiday season is their festivities at Sandringham, which are just a couple of weeks away. We can’t wait to see the royals out and about, celebrating the holiday with their traditional walkabout.
