Prince William Still Gets Teased by Kate Middleton for Giving Her This Gift

(Image credit: Getty)

published 10 October 2022

He may be the future king and a person of privilege and fortune, but even Prince William has been known to slip up and give a terrible gift—one that his wife (and then girlfriend) Kate Middleton apparently won’t let him forget.

While speaking on an episode of Peter Crouch’s podcast, William admitted “I did get my wife a pair of binoculars once—she’s never let me forget that.”

The couple met when both were still teenagers at the University of St. Andrews in 2001.

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“That was early on in the courtship,” William said of his embarrassing gift. “Think that sealed the deal.” As Crouch laughed, William continued “it didn’t go well. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Apparently unlike her husband, according to Hello, Kate “has seemingly nailed the art of selecting unique gifts,” the outlet reports. “For her first ever Christmas at Sandringham with the Queen, Kate whipped up a batch of homemade chutney using her grandmother’s special recipe.”

The new Princess of Wales opened up about that intimidating moment—what, after all, do you get the Queen for Christmas?—in an ITV documentary celebrating Her late Majesty’s ninetieth birthday.

“She [the Queen] really cares,” Kate said. “I can remember being at Sandringham for the first time at Christmas. And I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present. I was thinking ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’ I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents. And I thought, ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny’s recipe of chutney.”

The gift went over well: “I was slightly worried about it,” Kate continued, “but I noticed the next day that it was on the table.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.