Prince Harry Recalls The Bizarre ‘Cold-Blooded’ Christmas Gift He Received From a Royal Member

Prince Harry shared a surprising memory from a royal Christmas in his memoir Spare , detailing an unusual gift he received from his great-aunt, Princess Margaret. Although he and Meghan Markle have spent the last five Christmases away from the royal family in North America, Harry recalled his earlier years when he regularly participated in the traditional royal Christmas at Sandringham Estate.

In his book, Harry explained that his family follows the tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day, a practice passed down from their German ancestors. “The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor,” he said. However, one particular gift from Princess Margaret left him puzzled. I n Spare , Harry wrote about how he didn’t know his great-aunt well, despite sharing “12.5 percent” of her DNA, and referred to her as ‘Aunt Margo.’ One Christmas Eve at Sandringham, the family gathered to open their presents.

Harry, standing before his pile of gifts, decided to start with the smallest one. “The tag said: ‘From Aunt Margo,'” he recalled. “Standing before my pile, I chose to open the smallest present first. The tag said: ‘From Aunt Margo’. I looked over, and called out: ‘Thank you, Aunt Margo!'” After opening the gift, Harry claims he was surprised and thanked Margaret, who he says pointed out that it was not just any biro, but a special one. Harry remembered thinking to himself: “That is cold-blooded.”

Harry reflected on his distant relationship with Princess Margaret, noting that she was often stern and intimidating. “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness,” he wrote. He added that her presence made him uneasy, saying, “She could kill a houseplant with one scowl.” Their interactions were rare, and when they did occur, they were marked by a coldness that confirmed to Harry that her opinion of him wasn’t particularly favorable.

Harry also drew comparisons between his and Margeret’s roles within the family, noting that both of them were ‘spares’ to the heirs. He likened his relationship with Prince William to that of Princess Margaret’s with Queen Elizabeth II , saying, “Her relationship with Granny wasn’t an exact analog of mine with Willy, but pretty close. The simmering rivalry, the intense competition (driven largely by the older sibling), it all looked familiar.” He also noted that Margaret wasn’t dissimilar to his mother, Princess Diana , labeling both women as rebels within the royal family.

Harry also revealed that after Prince Philip’s funeral, their father, King Charles III , pleaded with him and William to resolve their differences, reportedly saying, “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.” Harry’s strained relationship with William has long been a subject of public interest. The tension between the brothers reportedly began before Harry’s wedding to Meghan, with Harry accusing William of being snobbish toward his bride. Their relationship further deteriorated following the release of Harry’s memoir and the couple’s Netflix documentary, where Harry alleged that William physically attacked him during an argument over Meghan.