Kate Middleton and Prince William’s Christmas plans for George, Charlotte and Louis amid ‘chaos’

What do you buy the man who has everything? Something practical or fun, but always affordable, says King Charles’ former butler, Grant Harrold. “The King hates being given anything extravagant and expensive. He’d be embarrassed if you spent a fortune on him. He’d say, ‘That’s lovely but you really shouldn’t have.’ So, at Christmas, I used to give him books on Victorian gardening or honey-based products because I know how much he loves honey.”

The Princess of Wales is a savvy shopper, too. In the past, she’s snapped up last-minute gifts at the King’s Lynn branch of home store The Range. With William, she has also stopped by the family-run department store Bakers & Larners in nearby Holt, where mouth-watering hampers and country fare set the vibe.

Queen Camilla is more of a forward planner. Last year, during an official visit to Nairobi, she bought a “rather large haul” of gifts in a market, including blankets, jewellery and a pot of cashew butter, which she declared was “one up on peanut butter.”

But Queen Elizabeth II had an additional Christmas shopping trick up her sleeve: a little ‘shop’ was set up in a drawing room at Windsor Castle, according to her former footman Paul Burrell. John Lewis would send a selection of nearly everything they stocked, leaving her free to choose goodies at her own pace, often late at night, after dinner.

“The royals could easily ask a member of staff to buy gifts on their behalf,” says Grant Harrold. “But the idea of royals mingling among us is no longer unusual because they’re becoming increasingly more normal – Princess Beatrice goes to Glastonbury festival most summers!” What’s most remarkable is that they are often shopping right under our noses without us even noticing.