He's the most infamous prisoner this country has ever produced. In fact there's little of Charles Bronson's nearly 50 years behind bars that hasn't been splashed across the pages of the UK's newspapers.
From rooftop protests and taking jail staff hostage to his newfound life as an acclaimed incarcerated artist whose work raises lots of money for good causes, he's the one jail bird who everyone's probably familiar with. But, as December 25 fast approaches, there's still one thing about him of which little is known – namely just how does he spend Christmas?
So we wrote to Bronson at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes to ask him just that and he responded by sending us a four-page handwritten letter entitled 'Crimbo'. In it he reveals exactly what life's like in a maximum-security unit during the festive period and how he celebrates it while the rest of us get together with family and friends.
READ MORE: Prisoner Charles Bronson fumes as parole delay means he can't have Christmas dinner with his mum
"At 6.45am I'll roll out of bed and smash out 100 press-ups followed by squats and sit-ups – all in the nude," began the 69-year-old, whose mum Eira comes from Aberystwyth. "Then I'll boil two eggs in a kettle. Yeah, a kettle – how posh.
"Three and a half minutes later and they come out nice and runny, perfect with a cup of tea." After that there'll be more exercise and pacing up and down his cell listening to the radio. "Music helps cleanse the soul," he said.
"Then at 12 o'clock the cell door will open and I'll go to collect my meal – the best dinner of the year. Most prisons go the extra mile at Christmas, with turkey and all the trimmings, lovely thick gravy and Xmas pud."
Bronson added that because there are only several other inmates in his maximum-security unit – "a couple of whom I wouldn't p*** on if they were on fire" – he will then stay in his cell until Boxing Day. Subscribe to the Wales crime newsletter here
"I'll defo listen to the King's speech though, having listened to his mother doing it for years. She was a wonderful lady who I admired all my life – and, let's face it, she was pretty much my landlady all the while I've been in here."
Originally given seven years for an armed raid on a Cheshire post office in 1974 – from which he netted just £26.18 – Bronson's initial sentence has increased several times over the decades. This was a result of various violent incidents which saw him assault other inmates and take members of prison staff hostage.
Nevertheless since changing his surname to Salvador in 2014 in a tribute to the surrealist painter Dali he's become a prolific artist and devoted himself to raising money for various good causes, writing books, and trying to encourage kids to stay away from crime. "After listening to King Charles I'll probably work on some art to raise funds for MacmiIlan nurses or something – I do a lot to help hospices," he said.
"Tea time is around 4.30pm and a bag of goodies will be handed to me through my door – sausage rolls, crisps, pop etc. I also get handed back the sock I hang outside my cell every year. But it always comes back empty. That lazy b*****d Santa never comes to prison."
Having already had his upcoming public parole hearing put back from this December to sometime in 2023 he pondered about whether he'd be out in time for next year's festive period. "Who knows? But there's one sure thing – I'll make it out of here one day and it won't be in a body bag.
"Happy Christmas. Go easy on those mince pies."
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