The £7.95 Christmas gift Charles gave Prince Harry one year – as Meghan Markle lavishes him with £5k Cartier bracelet
BUYING Christmas presents can be tricky, but King Charles once selected a purse-friendly gift for son Prince Harry.
When Harry was deployed for active duty in Afghanistan in 2012, he was sent a £7.95 present over the festive period.
In Robert Lacey’s Battle of Brothers book, the royal biographer wrote: “Harry had qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot in April 2011, the same month that William and Kate got married, and he was deployed to Helmand Province over Christmas 2012.
“So once again the Queen said prayers for Harry over a Christmas lunch at Sandringham – while the prince put on a Santa hat to cook breakfast for his crew, then queued for histurkey dinner alongside the thousands of other servicemen and women who were deployed in Camp Bastion.”
The biographer then revealed the gift Harry was sent by the then-Prince Charles, and how it didn’t last long in his company.
Robert wrote: “His father had sent him some Highgrove honey for Christmas and a box of Cuban cigars – which Captain Wales promptly traded for sweets and chocolates with his fellow officers.”
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King Charles sells his own honey jars produced from pollen collected by the royal bees at his countryside home.
The Highgrove Royal Orchard Summer Honey currently costs £7.95 online, and is available for delivery across the UK and overseas.
Although a delicious pot of honey is a nice gift to receive, Prince Harry has been given some more lavish gifts from wife Meghan Marke over the years.
The Duke of Sussex has been seen wearing a Cartier Love Bracelet, which is said to be worth over £5,000.
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The 18-carat diamond-encrusted yellow gold bracelet, comes with a screwdriver to attach it to your loved one’s wrist - with Meghan wearing a matching one.
Meghan shared a snap of the couple wearing the 'his and hers' bracelets on her social media pages.
In a nod to their one-year wedding anniversary theme of “paper”, Meghan hand wrote out their wedding speech and had it framed for Harry, according to .
Meanwhile, the Duke of Sussex gifted his wife an eternity ring.
Contrary to what we might expect, it turns out that the Royal Family, who traditionally give their presents on Christmas Eve, prefer to give each other tongue-in-cheek ‘gag’ presents.
It’s a tradition that still stands today - typically, there are no diamonds under the royals’ Christmas trees.
Kate once gave Harry a Grow Your Own girlfriend kit when he was single, while Princess Anne once gifted her older brother Charles a leather toilet seat.
But Diana was unbeknown to this and was left blushing by the unusual tradition when she gifted her sister-in-law Princess Anne a beautiful cashmere sweater.
But in return, Diana was rewarded with a toilet roll holder.
According to royal expert Jennie Bond: “The name of the game is to buy cheap, witty presents.
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“The gifts are to make people laugh, not to be expensive.”
Inside the Royal Family’s extravagant Christmas Eve celebrations
SARAH Hewson, royal editor at Talk TV, said the Royal Family typically gather on Christmas Eve to kickstart the celebrations.
She added: “The little royals - George, Charlotte and Louis and Camilla's grandchildren - will help finish decorating the tree.
"Then, the royal family and all their guests will place their gifts on a trestle table in the red drawing room and they will open them at tea time, a German tradition introduced by Prince Albert.
"And contrary to what we might expect when you think about a royal Christmas, there are no diamonds under the tree.
"They actually give joke gifts - Kate once, when he was single, gave Harry a Grow Your Own girlfriend kit, and apparently Meghan's present to the Queen on her first Christmas at Sandringham with a singing hamster.
