Bizarre Christmas tradition the royal family do before and after dinner

24 December 2023 , 07:24

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Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 (Image: Getty Images)

The royal family have many Christmas traditions from decorating trees, attending church and taking part in many engagements for good causes.

However, there is one reported tradition that is sure to raise eyebrows. It was depicted in last year's film Spencer, which is based on Princess Diana starring Kristen Stewart.

In the film, the characters are seen getting weighed before and after their Christmas dinner. While it appears to be an odd thing to do, it is reported the royal family has taken part in this tradition for decades.

The tradition is said to have started in the early 1990s and the point of it was to see how much everyone enjoyed their food and to make sure guests had eaten enough.

The idea was that all the guests would have been well-fed if they had gained a couple of pounds. King Edward VII started the traditions and even guests under the late Queen Elizabeth II would weigh themselves upon their arrival. And in 2018, the tradition was still ongoing according to Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty Magazine.

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The royals also participate in another tradition where they open gifts in a 'free-for-all. On Christmas Eve every year, the royals gather inside Sandringham Estate's red drawing room at 6pm following afternoon tea. Choosing to do the Christmas ritual on December 24 rather than 25, the Windsors are keeping in line with their German ancestry.

One of the best descriptions of the royals' Christmas procedure came in Prince Harry's explosive memoir, Spare. The prince said: "The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.

"We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place and stood before our mound of presents. Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper."

When they get to the room, they find their presents have been laid out in front of them. But despite the "mound" of presents, they are usually all cheeky, and cheap, ones. According to reports, the cheaper and cheekier the better.

There was an additional rule when Prince Philip was alive that no one should open them until he gave the go-ahead as he supervised the free-for-all. In the same memoir, Harry wrote how one year his great-aunt Princess Margaret gifted him a fish biro. In 2020, Meghan gave her royal husband an ornament of his grandma, the Queen.

Alahna Kindred