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By James Crawford-Smith
Royal Reporter
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In his record-breaking 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry gave the public an unprecedented peek behind palace walls and into the everyday lives of members of the royal family, from their state ceremonials to private celebrations.
One insight into royal life that the prince gave to his readers was what it was really like for Britain's most famous family around Christmas time, in particular royal gift giving.
Each year, during the later stages of her reign, the royal family gathered at Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, where they would open presents on Christmas Eve and attend church together (in view of the waiting public) on Christmas Day.
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After his accession, King Charles III kept up these traditions, with the royals all photographed at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Sandringham on Christmas Day in 2022.
Here, Newsweek looks at everything Prince Harry said about the royal Christmas and a gift from a royal relation he described as "cold-blooded" in Spare.
'A German Tradition'
In his book, Harry described his family's tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day and how this was inherited from their German ancestors.
"That survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor," he wrote in reference to the decision made by his great-great-grandfather, King George V to change the royal family name, which had been "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" since Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, to Windsor.
This was made at the height of World War I, when the British monarchy took moves to distance itself from its German associations.
Prince Harry in Spare
"The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor."
'That is Cold-Blooded'
The prince also described the "free-for-all" atmosphere when it came to the royals actually tearing into their gifts.
Lined up on long tables, Harry wrote that he had decided to open his gifts from smallest to largest, and how in his decision to do so his suspected antipathy from his great-aunt Princess Margaret was confirmed.
"Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness," he wrote of Queen Elizabeth's sister. "She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance. On those rarer-than-rare occasions when our paths crossed, when she deigned to take notice of me, to speak to me, I'd wonder if she had any opinion of me. It seemed that she didn't. Or else, given her tone, her coldness, the opinion wasn't much."
Her views, he said, were confirmed to him when he opened the gift on Christmas Eve marked "From Aunt Margo."
The princess, he claimed, wrapped a single biro ballpoint pen for him. "It wasn't just any biro, she pointed out," he told readers. "It had a tiny rubber fish wrapped around it. I said: 'Oh. A fish biro! OK.' I told myself: 'That is cold-blooded.'"
Prince Harry in Spare
"We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents. Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.
"Standing before my pile, I chose to open the smallest present first. The tag said: 'From Aunt Margo.'
"I looked over, called out: 'Thank you, Aunt Margo!'
"'I do hope you like it, Harry.'
"I tore off the paper. It was... A biro? I said: 'Oh. A biro. Wow.'
"She said: 'Yes. A biro.'
"I said: 'Thank you so much.'
"But it wasn't just any biro, she pointed out. It had a tiny rubber fish wrapped around it. I said: 'Oh. A fish biro! OK.' I told myself: 'That is cold-blooded.'"
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek*'s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on* Newsweek*'s The Royals Facebook page.*
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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