EXCLUSIVE: King Scrooge! Prince William Branded a 'Misery Guts' for Planning to Axe Decades-Long Royal Christmas Gift Tradition
Prince William faced criticism after planning to end a decades-long royal tradition
Dec. 8 2025, Published 6:14 p.m. ET
Prince William is preparing to axe the Royal Family's decades-old gag-gift tradition when he becomes king – a move insiders tell RadarOnline.com has already earned him the label of a "misery guts" from palace aides and royals who view the looming festive change as needless and joyless.
The ritual, in which senior royals receive their cheap novelty presents first while junior members wait their turn while The Firm is gathered at the Sandringham estate for the holidays, has long marked the family's Christmas Eve gathering.
Modernizing an 'Antiquated Tradition'
Prince William plans to end the Royal Family’s long-standing £5 gag-gift tradition.
The practice, loosely overseen by the monarch and rooted in hierarchy, is expected to be abandoned entirely under William's future reign.
The Prince of Wales, 43, who celebrates Christmas more informally with his wife Catherine, also 43, and their children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, is understood to believe the inexpensive gift game is patronizing to staff and relatives alike, and incompatible with his vision of a more ethical and less class-bound monarchy.
One senior source said: "William has made it very clear he thinks the whole thing feels out of step with the country. He believes lining people up by rank to receive joke gifts sends the wrong message in an era when so many families are struggling.
"He sees the gift being viewed as a joke among the richest people in Britain as patronizing to the poor and completely at odds with the kind of monarchy he wants to build."
The source added William intends to "scrap the idea entirely" rather than merely soften it.
Palace Backlash to the Plan
William rejects the gift game as out of step with modern Britain.
But while the prince is focused on modernizing the institution, not everyone in the palace is impressed.
A longtime royal aide said: "Some of us think William can be a bit po-faced about these things. It's a harmless bit of fun, and it means a lot to people who remember the late Queen."
The feeling among some staff is that he should loosen up rather than bin a tradition that brings real laughter to the room."
Another insider was more blunt, saying: "He's being a misery guts – it's Christmas, not a corporate away day or publicity stunt."
The prince's stance reflects a broader shift in his family's holiday habits.
William and Catherine have often opted for a quieter, less formal celebration at Anmer Hall with the Middleton family, avoiding the more ritualized schedule at Sandringham that includes prescribed seating plans, a black-tie dinner and a tightly choreographed timetable.
Those close to William say his preference for informality is both personal and philosophical, with the prince wary of traditions he believes risk turning the monarchy into a museum piece.
Charles Values Nostalgia
King Charles keeps the tradition for now but accepts William will end it.
The inexpensive gift exchange, popularized during Elizabeth II's reign, has persisted under King Charles, 77, who is thought to value the nostalgia and continuity it represents.
While the monarch, who is still battling an undisclosed form of cancer, is not expected to alter the custom himself, insiders say he understands that William will end it in due course – and has privately accepted his son's reasoning.
One source said: "Charles keeps it going because it connects him to his mother.
"But he knows William doesn't see it the same way and wants to change things when he takes the throne."
Andrew's Christmas Absence
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This year’s Sandringham gathering shifts as Andrew steps back from attendance.
This year's Sandringham gathering is already set to look different, with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, 65, set to absent following the loss of his royal privileges over his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 66, are expected to leave Royal Lodge next year, though sources say they will spend this Christmas there rather than at Sandringham.
