Kate Middleton’s very thoughtful gift for the late Queen at her first royal Christmas

Kate Middleton’s very thoughtful gift for the late Queen at her first royal Christmas
When Princess Kate first attended a royal Christmas at Sandringham, she brought an incredibly thoughtful present for her grandmother-in-law, the late Queen Elizabeth

Kate is now a well-valued member of the Royal Family
Kate’s first Christmas present for the late Queen was thoughtful(PA)

When Princess Kate first joined the Royal Family at Sandringham for their Christmas celebrations, she was faced with one major dilemma: what to bring the late Queen Elizabeth as a festive present. Generally, the House of Windsor is reported to give each other gag gifts or something small during the festive season, rather than anything grand and luxurious.

Kate even admitted later that she was quite “worried” about the gift, and what direction she should go in when it came to presenting her grandmother-in-law with a Christmas present. However, she decided to keep it simple and go with her gut – sticking with what she would get for members of her own family – and luckily, her simple and thoughtful present went down a treat.

The now-Princess of Wales revealed what she got for the Queen during her first royal Christmas eight years ago, in a documentary that was released to mark the late monarch’s 90th birthday. “I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas. And I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present,” Kate explained in the ITV documentary.

“I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’ I thought back to what would I give my own grandparents. And I thought: ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong,” Kate added, and the gift she decided on for the late Queen Elizabeth was inspired by her grandparents in more ways than one.

Kate decided “to make my granny’s recipe of chutney,” for her grandmother-in-law, but she still was somewhat apprehensive about how this might go down – presumably because the Royal Family have the best chefs and produce that money can buy.

However, the late Queen loved the gift, and it became an important building block in Kate’s relationship with the former monarch, with the Queen’s reaction showing her “thoughtful” side.

“I was slightly worried about it but I noticed the next day that it was on the table and I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me, and I’ve noticed since that she’s done that on lots of occasions, and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness really and her care in looking after everybody,” Kate explained.

In a recent Channel 5 documentary, Kate and the Queen: A Special Relationship, royal experts gave their opinions about the close bond shared between the late Queen and Princess Kate. One expert, Ingrid Seward – editor of Majesty magazine – explained that in her view it was the two women’s sense of duty that bonded them: “I think the Queen saw her strength and saw that she is a caring person who had this amazing affiliation to duty.”