Former Staffer Reveals the Royal Family’s Halloween Traditions Even Though They’re Not Supposed to Celebrate the Holiday
Millions of people around the world celebrate Halloween including some members of the royal family. However, an old rule once prohibited any of them from doing so.
Now, someone who used to work for the royals is revealing who does and doesn’t celebrate the spooky holiday.
Why the royals aren’t supposed to celebrate Halloween
It’s been reported that over the years Prince William and the Princess of Wales’ (formerly known as Kate Middleton) children have gone trick-or-treating although they managed to keep what type of costumes their kid wore under wraps.
In 2019, William’s wife was spotted in a Norfolk supermarket near their Anmer Hall home shopping for Halloween costumes with her two eldest children. A woman named Kathy Whittaker told several media outlets: “I didn’t see what she actually bought … Kate was asking her children what they were going to be for Halloween.”
But according to a rule put in place by a former queen, dressing up isn’t something the family is supposed to do.
The Express reported that Queen Victoria set a strict code of conduct that the royal family should constantly “uphold total class and sophistication” and have “complete self-respect and good behavior when in front of the general public,” which included not dressing up for Halloween.
Former royal employee reveals what Halloween traditions the family does have
Despite the rule, several royals have celebrated the holiday.
Grant Harrold was King Charles’ butler from 2004 to 2011. During his time working for Charles and his wife (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles) he also looked after Prince William, his then-girlfriend Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry. Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Harrold revealed which royals celebrated Halloween.
“From my experience, the senior royals — King Charles, Queen Camilla, and late Queen Elizabeth — didn’t celebrate it extensively. They wouldn’t experience trick-or-treaters for obvious reasons,” Harrold said adding, “There were staff parties, and staff were encouraged to have fun and attend events a lot. The younger royals — Kate Middleton, Prince William, and Prince Harry — used to go off to Halloween parties or have one themselves with their friends.”
Of course, there’s one costume party that family members wish a certain royal would have followed Queen Victoria’s rule.
In 2005, Prince Harry showed up at a get-together with his friends dressed in a Nazi costume. Someone at the party snapped a picture of him, and soon, the image was slapped all over the tabloids.
The prince later issued an apology (per The Telegraph) saying: “I am very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize.”
However, in his memoir Spare, Harry doesn’t accept all the blame and pushes some of it onto his brother and sister-in-law claiming: “I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought (between a pilot and Nazi costume). ‘Nazi uniform’ they said.”
