As well as time-old traditions such as the bustling grand present opening at Sandringham House on Christmas Eve, or the walk to church en masse on Christmas Day, another key ingredient of the festive season for the royals – much as it is for the rest of the population – is hitting the shops and admiring the festive light displays, as they engage in some retail therapy.
“The King hates being given anything extravagant and expensive. He’d be embarrassed if you spent a fortune on him”, he maintains. “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.”
But King Charles isn’t the only royal who likes to keep the presents low-key, snubbing extravagant gift-giving over the festive season – the entire royal family are known for being rather pragmatic about it. And if people think they only head to the most expensive shops to buy something for their nearest and dearest, they’d be mistaken – they love, for instance, snapping up a good bargain just as much as the next person.
“Everyone assumes the royals only shop in the poshest stores. But they go to the same shops that we do”, adds Grant. “I’m not saying they never go to Harrods – the late Queen did some Christmas shopping there with her cousin (the Duchess of Kent) in the 50s but she would often nip to her local shops in Ballatar village, near Balmoral. The royals enjoy a bargain. ”
Princess Kate seems to eschew posh shops, too. She has previously been pictured picking up last-minute presents at bargain homeware shop, The Range, in Sandringham.
