The royal family gathers at Sandringham every year for their annual visit to St Mary Magdalene Church, followed by a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. But have you ever wondered about royal dinner party etiquette?
This year, King Charles and Queen Camilla will host the family for a festive feast, with Princess Kate, Prince William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis being guests of honour, of course.
While wine will be free-flowing on Christmas Day, there’s one thing the royals definitely won’t be doing – getting drunk.
“I can hand on heart say I have never ever seen a member of the royal family drunk. If we’re talking about staff members, that’s different ball game!,” royal butler Grant Harrold said during a festive etiquette event hosted on behalf of Betfair.
Royal etiquette expert Grant worked for King Charles from 2004 to 2011 when he was Prince of Wales and has spent time with Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry over the years.
He added: “We used to go to Christmas parties which was hysterical really good fun, getting to sit at a table with Prince William and have a lunch was quite unusual, but good fun.
“But again, you never saw them drunk; even dare I say Harry, never in person. I’ve never seen any of them drunk.”
The Royals’ Favourite Christmas Tipples
That doesn’t mean the royals don’t enjoy a few wines with their roast turkey, stuffing and pigs in blankets, however. In fact, they have quite the selection of booze on offer on 25 December, the preference being Royal Warrant holder brands, such as Laurent-Perrier champagne, which is sold in the shop at Highgrove House.
“They always offered the white wines traditionally with the starter, then the red wines,” Grant told us. “With the pudding course, what I also remember is that sometimes there would be a dessert wine or a rose or pink champagne.”
It’s a fact that the royals love a cheeky beverage – even if they do consume alcohol in moderation. The late Queen Elizabeth II was known to enjoy a gin and Dubonnet.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously debunked rumours that Her Late Majesty drank four cocktails a day. He told CNN: “She’d be pickled if she drank that much. All I said was she likes a gin and Dubonnet. That’s her favourite drink… She doesn’t wake up in the morning and have a large gin and tonic.”
As for Princess Kate, the royal mum and her husband Prince William are both known to love a pint, whether it’s Guinness or lager on tap during official engagements. However, Kate has kept her drink of choice at home under wraps.
