How King Charles Shows His Sense Of Humor For The Holidays, According To Former Butler
Queen Elizabeth may have been one of the most famous people in the world and with a job that she dedicated her life to, but the queen still had a sense of humor. She showcased her quintessentially dry British humor during interactions with world leaders like President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, per Insider. She memorably appeared with Daniel Craig as James Bond in a skit for the 2012 London Olympics and with Paddington the Bear for the Platinum Jubilee, via The Washington Post. The latter resulted in hundreds of stuffed Paddington Bear toys being left at Buckingham Palace after the queen died.
Following in her footsteps, and despite the problems King Charles had with pens shortly after becoming king, King Charles has shown himself over the years to be able to take and make a joke. Chair of the Prince's Trust Australia told News24 that his sense of humor is "wickedly self-deprecating." That humor comes through when it comes to Christmas gift-giving as well, per a former royal butler (via the Mirror).
King Charles left fun gifts for staff at Christmas
Grant Harrold was a royal butler for seven years at Highgrove, and he told the Mirror that for Christmas, then-prince Charles would leave unpredictable presents for staff, saying, "The other thing he used to do is, we all used to have these pigeon holes where I'd get my post in the mornings and what he used to do at Christmas, he used to leave funny little things. One time he left a tin of salmon and one year I got a salt and pepper grinder wrapped in a ribbon. ... It shows that they've got that fun, practical side to them."
Giving fun and unexpected gifts is also a tradition within the royal family itself. If you watched Season 5 of "The Crown" on Netflix, you may remember the Big Mouth Billy Bass that the queen unwrapped, via Harper's Bazaar. She really did get one for Christmas, though who gave it to her isn't publicly known. "I've been told they give fun gifts because what do you give a royal who's got everything?" Harrold said. The queen likely opened the singing fish on Christmas Eve; as Harrold explained, the fun gifts were opened by the royals the day before Christmas, while more serious ones were for Christmas day.
For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the royals will be celebrating Christmas at Sandringham, per People. Here's hoping the fun royal gift-giving tradition continues!