Prince William once recalled a rather bizarre gift he bought for wife Kate in the early days of their romance – and it seems it left the now Princess of Wales stumped
This time of year will mark a busy period of gift buying for Prince William. Not only does he have to organise Christmas presents for his family, including his wife Kate – he also has to buy something for her birthday.
Kate turns 44 just two weeks after Christmas – and there is no doubt he along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will want to pick her out something special. But before having children, the Prince of Wales wasn’t always able to call on them for help, and it seems he previously struggled in the past when buying gifts for his beloved wife in the early days of their romance.
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That’s because he once admitted to getting her an awful present that Kate has “never let him forget” after it left her completely baffled. William revealed the bizarre present during an appearance on former England striker Peter Crouch’s podcast. In a discussion about presents, Crouch confessed to buying his model wife Abbey Clancy a raincoat three years running for her birthday.
And William admitted: “I did get my wife a pair of binoculars once – she’s never let me forget that. That was early on in the courtship that was – I think that sealed the deal. It didn’t go well. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
It’s well known that the royals prefer not to lavish each other with expensive, ostentatious gifts at Christmas time – instead preferring to give light-hearted joke presents.
Due to the fact they descend from Germanic roots, they also adopt traditions the rest of us in the UK might not recognise – like exchanging the goodies on Christmas Eve, rather than the big day.
It’s thought that on Christmas Eve, each member of the family creeps downstairs during the afternoon to lay out their gifts, eagerly awaiting 6pm when the unwrapping begins. Before the exchange starts, each person’s gifts are cornered off in a specific pile before they’re opened.
For decades, the unwrapping was always overseen by the late Prince Philip, who would give the go-ahead for someone to tear into their presents. Some of the more memorable gifts exchanged over the years have included a bath hat given to the late Queen by her grandson Prince Harry that read: ‘Ain’t life a b*tch’.
Meanwhile Kate made a witty quip to her brother-in-law Harry one Christmas when she handed him a ‘grow-your-own-girlfriend kit’ – after he’d made headlines with a string of high-profile romances.
However, it seems Kate did once ask for a very bizarre gift last Christmas – and she received it. In April, the Prince and Princess of Wales travelled to the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, as they celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary.
Mucking in at the community hall in the village of Tobermory, Kate asked for tips on carpentry and beekeeping and revealed she received a chainsaw when the royal couple were shown some of the refurbishment work, meeting the painter, carpenter and volunteers before getting involved in the action themselves.
