Last week, we learned that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, gave Queen Elizabeth II a jar of homemade marrow chutney for their first Christmas together. Now, we’ve find out what the Queen gives to her royal staff – and it appears that when it comes to Christmas presents, she and the Duchess share the same style.
The official British royal family website goes into great detail explaining how the monarchy spends Christmas, right down to the 1500 puddings the Queen hands out to her staff.
Funded by the Privy Purse and distributed to palace staff and palace police, as well as staff in the Court Post Office, each pudding comes complete with a Christmas card from the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. The website outlines that the gift-giving tradition dates back to King George V, the Queen’s grandfather.
The website also documents the Queen’s charitable donations at Christmas. Each year, in addition to financial donations, she gives Christmas trees to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, St Giles Cathedral and Edinburgh’s Canongate Kirk. Churches and schools in Sandringham, where the royal family spends Christmas each year, also receive a tree.
