Anyone who’s ever been to a White Elephant gift exchange knows that it can lead to some weird presents you have know idea what to do with. Apparently, the royals are all about the gag gifts, though—and a weird Christmas present Prince Harry once gave to the Queen even has a place of honor.
It probably makes sense to go silly with the presents when you’re buying for a royal. After all, what do you get the woman who has everything, including numerous countries? But apparently Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a real knack for buying weird stuff, and the Queen is a big fan.
According to the Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand (noted by Express UK), Harry once gave the Queen a shower cap that reads, “Ain’t Life a Bitch” on it. But it was another gift that she particularly loved: A Big Mouth Billy Bass electronic singing fish, which Harry gifted to Her Majesty one holiday. Apparently the Queen loved it so much that it reportedly “is said to sit proudly at Balmoral.”
Honestly, before it starts singing it probably looks just rustic enough to blend in with the rest of the decor. And according to Express, Meghan Markle also reportedly gave the Queen a singing toy hamster one year, because singing toys are the thing to get her!
The Queen is a highly specific gift-giver herself, spending a reported $40,000 a year buying presents for the people on her Nice List. Earlier this year, Prince Harry revealed to James Corden that Archie had wanted a waffle maker, and the Queen sent him one for Christmas. “Archie wakes up in the morning and literally just goes, ‘Waffle?’” Harry told the host. (Corden responded to this by saying that he had a hard time picturing the Queen ordering a waffle maker and shipping it to Santa Barbara—which, same?)
While the royal family’s traditional Christmas plans at Sandringham may be on hold this year as the Omicron variant rampages across Europe, we have a feeling the gag gifts will continue with or without a pandemic.
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