This festive season marks the seventh consecutive Christmas that Prince Harry will spend separated from the traditional royal family celebrations at Sandringham. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with their children Archie and Lilibet, will remain at their home in California, thousands of miles from where King Charles III will host the Windsor clan.
A Frosty Festive Distance
The last time Harry and Meghan participated in the royal Christmas was in 2018, while Meghan was pregnant with their first child. With relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family remaining strained, their absence is once again notable. They will not be the only ones missing; the disgraced Duke of York, Prince Andrew, will also be absent following the stripping of his military titles and patronages.
However, Harry himself has suggested he might not be missing the core experience. In his memoir, Spare, he recounted a particularly memorable and underwhelming present he once received during a Sandringham Christmas, shedding light on the family's unique gift-giving customs.
The 'Cold-Blooded' Gift from Aunt Margo
Harry detailed the moment he opened a small present from his great-aunt, the late Princess Margaret. "The tag said: 'From Aunt Margo,'" he wrote. After thanking her, he unwrapped the gift to find a simple biro pen. His polite "Oh. A biro. Wow" was met with Margaret's clarification that it was not just any pen.
It featured a tiny rubber fish wrapped around its barrel. "Oh. A fish biro! OK," Harry recalled saying, before privately dubbing the present "cold-blooded"—a pun on the fish's nature and the perceived slight of the gift.
Spare Sympathies and Royal Rebels
In his reflections, Harry later drew poignant parallels between himself and Princess Margaret. He noted they were both "Spares" to the heir, experiencing simmering rivalries with their older siblings—Margaret with the late Queen and Harry with Prince William.
He also compared Margaret to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, describing both as rebels and labelled sirens. This connection added a layer of complexity to his memory of the seemingly trivial gift.
This anecdote highlights the long-standing royal tradition of exchanging humorous, often inexpensive joke gifts on Christmas Eve. The aim is to be kitsch and provoke laughter rather than to impress with extravagance.
Other notable gag gifts over the years have included:
- A leather toilet seat for the then-Prince Charles from Princess Anne.
- A 'grow-your-own-girlfriend' kit for Prince Harry.
- A shower cap for the late Queen Elizabeth II bearing the phrase "ain't life a b****".
As explained by royal experts, the more tongue-in-cheek the present, the better it is received within the family's festive protocol. This year, as the Sussexes celebrate a sunny, low-key Christmas in Montecito, the memories of Sandringham's unique traditions—and a certain fish pen—serve as a stark reminder of the life and customs Harry has left behind.
