While Prince William is now a black-belt at gifting, this one gift to Kate Middleton long ago was a big fail. Here's why.
The royal family’s Christmas is just like any of our own celebrations, with a couple of added traditions here and there. From celebrating at Sandringham Palace to walking to Church, some timeless traditions still prevail in the royal family. This year around, with some extended family joining the royals, Christmas sure did seem like a bash, despite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s absence.
Just like the rest of the world, gift-giving is also an integral part of the royal Christmas celebrations. Following the German tradition, the royals open their gifts on Christmas Eve, and not Christmas Day.
While most gifts are well received, some aren’t. This is especially the case with one ‘awful’ gift Kate Middleton received from her husband, Prince William. Here’s what it is.
Christmas at the Wales residence
The royal family has always been candid about their gifting skills. From Meghan Markle’s first-ever Christmas gift to Prince William to Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte getting ‘extra special’ gifts this year, gifting is a part of the royal tradition, especially with the Prince and Princess of Wales. But while so many gifts have been meaningful and well-picked, there was this one gift that William gave Kate that left her absolutely baffled, given that it didn’t go down well with her.
This mystery gift was allegedly given to the Princess by the Prince during the early stages of their relationship, when gifting was still a relatively new practice between the couple. And well, it was not well received by the Princess. Here’s what it is.
The mystery gift
Usually, royal butlers share details about what the Prince gifted the Princess for Christmas, but this time, it was the Prince himself who spoke about his embarrassing gifting debacle, many moons ago.
In conversation with former England striker Peter Crouch’s podcast on BBC Radio Five Live, Prince William got candid about his ‘awful’ gifting debacle. As per The Express, the Prince of Wales admitted that he gifted Kate a pair of binoculars one year. This revelation came after Crouch revealed that he gifted his wife a raincoat, 3 years in a row. Prince William topped it up by saying the following.
The royals take on gifting
Prince William then revealed all the inside scoop by saying the following on the podcast.
"I did get my wife a pair of binoculars once - she's never let me forget that. That was early on in the courtship that was - I think that sealed the deal.”
“It didn't go well. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
The royals always opt for light-hearted and quirky gifts as opposed to serious ones. And have a history of giving each other gag gifts. From Kate Middleton buying Prince Harry a ‘grow your own girlfriend’ kit, to Prince Harry gifting the late Queen a funny hat which read ‘Ain’t life a b*tch’, the royals have a different approach to gifting as a whole.
Meghan also took to the quirky traditions when she became a part of the royal family. Back in 2017, when everything was calm and happy between the royal brothers Harry and William, Meghan allegedly impressed William with a ‘killer’ gift. Meghan gave her then brother-in-law-to-be an engraved spoon with the words ‘cereal killer’ on it. As per the NY Post, Meghan’s choice of gifts left a great impression on the royals, given that the Suits star was spending her first-ever Christmas with Harry’s family.
Read more:
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⋙ Meghan Markle in the spotlight over a surprising cameo in a Christmas advertisement
