King Charles and Queen Camilla are preparing to host senior members of the royal family and their children at Sandringham this Christmas. The royals will enjoy an annual outing 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?
Princess Kate, Prince William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are set to be guests of honour at this year's festivities. The celebrations will be doubly special for the royal family thanks to Kate and Charles' difficult year and respective cancer battles. While wine will be free-flowing on Christmas Day, there's one thing the royals definitely won't be doing – getting drunk.
© DANIEL LEALHELLO! previously spoke to former royal butler Grant Harrold, who told us "hand on heart" that the royals never get drunk at family gatherings, even at Christmas.
"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!," he said during a festive etiquette event hosted by Press Box PR.
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.
© Max Mumby/Indigo"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.
© Matt Cardy/Getty"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.
© Mark R. MilanIf you're looking to recreate the go-to royal cocktail this Christmas, we have the recipe for you – and it turns out Gordon's gin will do just fine.
Love the royals? Our latest A Right Royal Podcast episode sees HELLO!’s TV Editor Emmy Griffiths flying solo to say goodbye to Netflix’s hit period drama The Crown.
