Turns out that there’s a rule the Queen follows when she’s deciding who to give Christmas presents to – and it makes a lot of sense!
The festive season is now upon us, and we’re all starting to work through our Christmas shopping lists – including her majesty, the Queen.
Turns out she starts planning the presents she will buy as early as March, when she asks her more than 500 members of staff what they would like for Christmas.
However, not everyone will get one. According to The Mirror, the Queen has a rule she uses to decide who’s worthy of a royal Christmas gift.
In order to be in on the list, members of staff will have had to work for the Queen for at least a year.
Why Prince George and Princess Charlotte DON’T open presents on Christmas Day
They also have to choose what they want, initially in the value of up to £25 for junior staff – this increases every year to a maximum of £35.
Plus, for an extra personal touch, they will receive the present from the Queen herself, one by one, when they say it was exactly what they wanted – funny that…
Meghan and Harry are though to be spending Christmas with the royal family but it’s unclear if Kate and William will be there too or with the Middletons in Berkshire (Credit: REX/Shutterstock)
According to the official Royal Family website, some of the staff also get Christmas puddings – a tradition that started with Queen’s father, King George VI.
It reads: ‘All members of The Royal Household will receive Christmas presents from The Queen, and Her Majesty will personally hand out presents to some members of The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle.
‘Continuing the tradition from her father, King George VI and her grandfather, George V – The Queen also gives Christmas puddings to her staff. About 1500 Christmas puddings paid for by The Queen (through the Privy Purse) are distributed to staff throughout the Palaces, staff in the Court Post Office and Palace police. Each pudding is accompanied by a greeting card from The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.’
When it comes to personal gifts among the royal family, it seems they prefer to get each other silly presents rather than spending a lot of money on expensive presents.
According to former Royal Chef Darren McGrady ‘the crazier and the more quirky is what they love’.
