Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Don't Follow One "Weird" Royal Christmas Tradition

The Waleses are doing it their way.

Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte, Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis holding hands wearing blue coats and walking to church
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Royal Family enjoys plenty of Christmas traditions that date back decades—or in some cases hundreds of years—and one of them is that they open their presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning. However, some royals don't follow this particular rule, and three of them are Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Princess Louis.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold, speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, tells Marie Claire that King Charles and family open their gifts "during the afternoon tea" on Christmas Eve, "which shocks a lot of people." He continues that "the tradition of having Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve goes back to the German side of the family."

Indeed, it was Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert, who brought this tradition across the pond, and like many things royal, it just stuck. However, it's been reported that Princess Kate isn't the biggest fan of tearing into gifts the night before Christmas.

According to the Daily Beast, a friend of William and Kate's told the outlet that "Kate has always found the presents on Christmas Eve thing weird. It is definitely going to be got rid of when they are officially running things." However, it seems that the whole gift-opening tradition is already somewhat loose.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Kate Middleton and Prince William looking at a Christmas tree covered in red tags outside Westminster Abbey

The Wales children joined their mom and dad for the annual Together at Christmas carol concert earlier this month.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Harrold tells Marie Claire that when he worked for the royals, "Santa would still come for the children that night, but for the adults that was their chance to exchange their Christmas presents to each other." This explains why the Princess of Wales told some fans on Christmas Day 2018 that her kids were "up very early" opening their presents.

A source also told the Daily Beast that this year "William and Kate will save their own and their children‘s gifts for Christmas Day at home," and that "you can bet your bottom dollar they will be doing proper presents for each other and the kids there on Christmas Day."

As for what might be under the Christmas tree at Anmer Hall, royal commentator Jennie Bond told OK! magazine, "I'd imagine there will be some flying lessons on the cards for George, maybe something to do with Taylor Swift for Charlotte, and anything adventurous for little Louis—he's probably at an age when he will be wanting things like a skateboard."

Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.