Queen’s Christmas gifts to royal staff revealed

The Christmas gifts which the Queen hands out to her staff have been revealed in a private collection. 

The royal presents, given to personal staff such as footmen at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, include a crystal bowl, salt and pepper set and a frame and photo from the monarch’s 80th birthday. 

Given out between 2002 and 2015, and inscribed with the cipher EIIR, a set of the presents now belongs to Ian Shapiro, a collector of royal memorabilia, according to the Daily Mirror. 

He said the range of gifts from the Queen ‘reveals a degree of annual thought and imagination’.

The royal presents given to personal staff include a crystal bowl and a salt and pepper set, similar to this one pictured for sale on Ebay

The presents also included a blue enamel box from 2002, decorated with the royal coat of arms, while in 2011 the Queen handed out a silver-plated salt and pepper set.

Her Majesty has also thanked her staff with a Christmas pudding from Fortnum and Mason, some cufflinks and a royal-themed alarm clock.

According to palace officials the Queen provides gifts for all the royal household staff, with some of them handed out personally at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. 

The tradition of handing out Christmas puddings goes back to her father, King George VI, and grandfather, King George V, with each pudding accompanied by a greetings card, according to the Royal Family website. 

The royals themselves exchange presents on Christmas Eve, laying presents out on trestle tables and opening them at teatime. 

The Queen and Prince Philip also send around 750 Christmas cards, to household staff as well as Commonwealth Prime Ministers.

The Queen sometimes hands out gifts personally at Buckingham Palace, such as a Royal Scot Crystal bowl,  similar to this one pictured for sale on Ebay

The Queen sometimes hands out gifts personally at Buckingham Palace, such as a Royal Scot Crystal bowl, similar to this one pictured for sale on Ebay

The royals themselves exchange presents on Christmas Eve, laying presents out on trestle tables and opening them at teatime

The royals themselves exchange presents on Christmas Eve, laying presents out on trestle tables and opening them at teatime



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