23 December 2023 , 16:03
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The Queen reportedly “burst out laughing” at an unusual Christmas present Meghan Markle once bought her.
The late monarch, who passed away in September last year, invited her beloved family to her exclusive lavish estate in Sandringham over Christmas, and every year, the royals would take part in a sweet, but bizarre, tradition. Senior members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, the late Prince Phillip, Prince William and Prince Harry, would buy each other joke gifts that they were allowed to open on Christmas Eve.
It’s not know who started the hilarious annual tradition, but each family member has to take part, and in 2017, Meghan Markle was required to come up with a funny and creative idea for her future in-laws. At that time, the former Suits star was engaged to Prince Harry, and broke royal protocol by attending the family gathering at Sandringham, as only wives or husbands are traditionally allowed.
Meghan and the Queen enjoyed a close relationshipMeghan gamely got involved in Harry’s family tradition, and bought the Queen, her future grandmother-in-law, a singing toy hamster – and it went down a treat with the monarch. According to the Daily Star, she was so impressed by the gift that she burst out laughing, and remarked: “It can keep my dogs company.”
A royal insider revealed that the toy was in fact a little hamster that sang and hung from a rope, and the Queen was delighted, as it served as a toy for her beloved corgis. “It was so funny, especially when the corgis tried to take hold of the toy,” they added. However, the overexcited pooches later tore the toy to pieces.
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Harry broke royal protocol by bringing Meghan to Christmas at Sandringham before they were married (Getty Images)The Royal Family used to open all their gifts at Sandringham on Christmas Eve, but the Duchess of Cambridge previously revealed the tradition has changed. “William's family's tradition is to open one Christmas present on Christmas eve, which is really lovely,” she told Marry Berry during an interview on her festive TV show in 2019.
Prince Harry also shared details of the Christmas Eve present opening in his memoir Spare, and said each family member would stand in front of a “mound” of gifts before being given the go-ahead to rip them open. “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.
Harry was very close to his beloved grandmother (Getty Images)“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,” he sweetly recalled. The late Prince Phillip used to give the signal to tell everyone when to start unwrapping, and the present opening was then followed by a black-tie dinner.