Now December is finally here, the Christmas countdown is on and there are two big royal moments coming up this month. The first is the Princess of Wales’s annual Together at Christmas carol service and the second is Christmas Day itself when the royals walk together from Sandringham House to church in their festive finery.
Zara Tindall is said to have recently confirmed she and her husband Mike Tindall will be attending both this year. She described celebrating in Norfolk as "always amazing" and last year Zara made a confession about another royal Christmas Day tradition.
"We give presents to each other on Christmas Eve," She reportedly explained at the Battle of Commentators charity lunch, adding, "As adults, we still have stockings on Christmas Day".
When asked if her late grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, used to have stockings too, Zara is said to have replied, "of course". It’s hard to imagine royals like Queen Elizabeth, King Charles or Prince William sitting down on Christmas Day to open their stockings and yet this tradition seems to be for everyone, regardless of age.
It’s also a lovely custom to share with their own children, especially as - like Zara mentioned - the royals open their gifts on Christmas Eve. This is thought to be a nod to their German heritage, as in Germany and much of Europe, the big present-opening day is the 24th December.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond previously suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales might keep some presents to open on Christmas Day at Anmer Hall before heading to the main house.
She suspects when William and Catherine are King and Queen "a lot of traditions will change - and the exchange of presents on Christmas Eve may well be one of them". But for now this remains the royal way, and by upholding the stocking tradition for the adults as well as the children, they all get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Stockings are also usually filled with little things and this suits the royals, who typically buy each other inexpensive, funny presents over lavish ones. Previous gifts famously range from a leather toilet seat Princess Anne gave King Charles to William’s present for Queen Elizabeth of slippers with her face on them.
Finding the perfect gift for the late Queen can’t have been easy and the Princess of Wales went down a different route for her first Christmas at Sandringham.
"I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents. And I thought, 'I'll make her something.' Which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny's recipe of chutney," the Princess shared in a documentary in 2016.
It went down well with Queen Elizabeth, with Catherine adding, "I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me."
She and Prince William are expected to spend Christmas in Norfolk again this year, with King Charles and Queen Camilla hosting the wider family as usual. Zara and Mike will be there with their children Mia, Lena and Lucas, who get on incredibly well with the Wales kids, and I’m anticipating some adorable interactions on Christmas Day.
