The Royal Family is known for their love of silly gag gifts, but when it came to the kids, they asked for toys from Santa like any other children. Former royal butler Paul Burrell worked for Princess Diana and her boys for 10 years, and he tells Marie Claire that one of the most memorable gifts Prince William and Prince Harry asked for caused some drama with one Kensington Palace neighbor.
"One of the biggest disasters one Christmas involved BB guns," Burrell shares, speaking on behalf of Casino.org. "Both Prince William and Prince Harry wanted them that year…and not just any BB guns, but the most powerful ones with the little pellets. At the time, we had no idea why they were so determined to have them."
As the former butler explains, Kensington Palace isn't one big building, but it's "really a series of apartments joined together, where different members of the Royal Family live side by side, like a grand apartment block." Princess Diana, Prince Charles and their boys lived next door to Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Burrell says that the boys got themselves into "trouble" with the Kent family's Siamese cats.
Burrell says that once the boys got their BB guns, "the cats became moving targets as they walked along the top of the wall—rather like something at a fairground." Apparently, William and Harry "thought it was great fun," but Burrell adds, "I don’t imagine Princess Michael found it quite so amusing."
Eventually, Princess Diana found out what her sons were doing and put her foot down. "It caused no end of mischief, and eventually, of course, the princess [Diana] discovered what was going on and stopped it immediately," Burrell tells Marie Claire. "She made it very clear: that was absolutely not on."
The former butler adds that William and Harry, like many young boys, were "full of energy, mischief, and ideas that feel exciting at the time, even when they really shouldn’t be."
Marie Claire reached out to representatives for the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex for comment.
As for other gifts given by the royals, Burrell says that Diana "always went for an Hermès scarf because you so often saw the Queen wearing one, and you can never have too many Hermès scarves if you’re a lady of a certain generation."
Another favorite present of Queen Elizabeth's is more surprising, with Burrell sharing that "the most popular gift of all was Tupperware."
"It wouldn’t exactly be top of my Christmas list, but it certainly was in the Queen’s stocking, because she used it constantly for picnics," he explains. "It was perfect for packing a slab of butter, crackers or cheese. The Queen was very practical, and she genuinely loved being given Tupperware."
