The idea of spending Christmas with your partner’s (or your partner’s) family for the first time is always a bit unnerving. Imagine that the relative you spend December 25th with is one of the most prominent royal families in the world: the Windsor family.
This is why we can hardly imagine the performance anxiety he had Kate Middleton, in the fall of 2011, at the idea of unwrapping presents at Sandringham, in front of Queen Elizabeth. Even any father-in-law (or mother-in-law) inspires a bit of awe, let alone when it’s none other than the Sovereign of the United Kingdom sitting at your table.
Kate Middleton and her first Christmas at Sandringham
It was the Princess of Wales who publicly confirmed her state of mind in 2011 at the idea of spending the end of the year holidays at Sandringham. She did so a few years later, in 2016, when she spoke to the documentary Our Queen in her nineties which was broadcast by ITV for Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday.
Kate Middleton at Christmas 2018. Next to her is Meghan Markle (Getty Photo)
In front of the cameras, Kate revealed: “I remember the first time I went to Sandringham was at Christmas. I was worried about what to give the queen. I was like, ‘Hey, what am I going to give her?'”
A question that is anything but trivial: what can you give a woman who not only already has everything, but who, given the role she has and the lifestyle she leads, is understandably hard to surprise?
He then added: “I thought, ‘I’ll do something for her’. It was a big risk, but I still decided to make my grandmother’s chutney recipe.”
Queen Elizabeth in her last Christmas speech to the nation. It was 2021 (Getty photo)
Understanding Queen Elizabeth
There has never been a better choice. The monarch appreciated the gesture and performed it hours after unwrapping the duchess’s gift. “I was a bit worried but the next day I noticed it was on the table,” Kate said in the documentary.
“I think such a simple gesture meant a lot to me,” he continued. “I have noticed that he has done this on many occasions. I believe that in this way he simply demonstrates his concern and attention in caring for everyone.”
Today, Kate is more used to, and less embarrassed about, celebrating Christmas with the royal family, of which she is increasingly one of the leading members. It can be seen with the ease with which he introduces his subject as he goes to mass in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, busy, rather, than guarding the adorable pest that is Prince Louis.