Prince William and Kate Middleton Don’t Give Their Kids Too Many Christmas Gifts Because of Princess Diana
Children in the British royal family spoiled at Christmas? Not the Cambridge kids. Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Christmases include them being mindful of how many gifts their children receive. And it’s thanks to, at least in part, William’s upbringing with Princess Diana.
Diana made sure William and Prince Harry didn’t get too many Christmas gifts
Royal family holidays center around tradition. One tradition not on the list? Diana keeping William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, grounded. That meant ensuring the boys didn’t have tons of presents to open.
“Diana was very careful to ensure that they weren’t flooded with gifts,” Ken Wharfe, her former bodyguard, told OK!. When William and Harry received Christmas gifts from what Wharfe called “unknown sources” they didn’t always stick around. Diana had some presents returned or gave others to charity.
What Diana did buy she was “very conscious about,” Wharfe added. After all, she “knew the hallway at Sandringham would be full of presents.” What about buying Christmas gifts for William and Harry? Wharfe said that was all Diana. According to him she preferred a more “hands-on” shopping experience and knew the layouts of major department stores in London.
William and Kate’s Chistmases include doing the same thing for Prince George, Princess, Charlotte, and Prince Louis
Similar to Diana, William and Kate’s Christmas typically involves monitoring how many gifts their kids receive. The parents of three — Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3 — don’t go overboard on presents. Royal author Duncan Larcombe says they pay close attention because of the sheer number of Christmas celebrations.
“I think we’re looking at three Christmases rolled into one for William and Kate and their children,” he told The Mirror. “There will be Christmas on their own with their kids, the more formal celebrations at Sandringham with William’s family, and then time with Kate’s family, the Middletons.”
“Something we know for sure about William and Kate is that they want their children to feel normal,” Lancombe added. “So they certainly won’t be lavishing them with expensive gifts, that’s for certain. They won’t let them be spoiled.”
Kate and William’s Christmas gifts to their kids are practical
Charlotte, Louis, and George don’t get any over-the-top Christmas presents. As royal author Katie Nicholl told OK!, William and Kate’s Christmas list for their kids is devoid of pricey electronics.
“George enjoys his iPad at school, both he and Charlotte are quite tech-savvy and, like most children, there probably are technical gadgets and such like on their wish list,” Nicholl said.
Rest assured the young royals “aren’t going to want for anything” but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very intentional in their gift-giving. “When it comes to technology and screens, they are careful not to spoil them with extravagant gifting,” Nicholl said.
“If it is something that happens to be a computer game or something like that then they are cautious of screen time so it could be a more practical gift,” she added.
