Former Royal Butler Reveals Prince Harry’s “Jokey Presents” for the Late Queen Nearly Turned Into a “Disaster”

The Royal Family doesn’t exchange luxurious presents on Christmas Day, but instead have a tradition of giving prank gifts. Before she married Prince William, Princess Kate gave then-single Prince Harry a grow-your-own-girlfriend toy, and Prince Charles once received a gilt toilet seat. Paul Burrell, former royal butler and close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales told The Express that Prince Harry once had a prank gift for the late Queen Elizabeth II that was nearly “a disaster.”

“The boys always chose jokey presents,” Burrell told The Express. “Harry once picked a whoopee cushion as Granny’s Christmas present, [Princess Diana, the late Princess of Wales] gently steered him away and suggested that Grandpa might appreciate that particular gift a little more than Granny would.”

“It wouldn’t exactly be right for Granny to sit on a whoopee cushion at Christmas, but Grandpa [the late Prince Philip] would see the funny side of it, and he certainly did.” Prince Philip enjoyed the humorous, flatuous gift from the young prince and “disaster was averted.” “Diana was sensible and gently steered the boys in the right direction,” the former royal butler revealed. “Can you imagine if the Queen had known what they were planning? She’d have said, ‘I know exactly what you’re up to.’”

Paul Burrell shared that “Harry was always the practical joker in the family. I think that's shone through his personality through the years; he's the one who was free to have fun.” Compared to his brother, Prince William, who was born with significantly more pressure on his shoulders, Burrell said “William was always worried about the consequences. Harry never was.”