Prince Harry shares the 'cold-blooded' Christmas gift he ever received

Prince Harry's memoir reveals his memories of Christmas with Princess Margaret, noting her cold demeanour and their limited interactions.

Prince Harry, in his 2023 memoir, Spare, shared about a bizarre Christmas gift he received from his great-aunt, Princess Margaret, at Sandringham Estate, where he spent traditional royal Christmases with his family.

Prince Harry compares their roles as 'spares' in the royal family and reflects on the pressure from King Charles III for reconciliation with Prince William. (AFP)

While the Duke and his wife, Meghan Markle, have spent the past five Christmases in North America, he reminisced about his younger years in England when he joined the royal family in celebrating the holiday.

“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,” Harry wrote.

What was that gift Prince Harry received?

The Duke shared one particular gift Princess ‘Aunt Margo’ Margaret gave him. Harry described her as someone he barely knew and admitted they had little interaction despite sharing “12.5 percent” of their DNA.

During this Christmas gathering, he stood before his pile of presents and chose to open the smallest one first, which bore the tag “From Aunt Margo.” Upon opening it, Harry realized it was a biro pen. “The tag said: 'From Aunt Margo.' I looked over and called out, 'Thank you, Aunt Margo!’” he recalled.

Princess Margaret pointed out that the pen was special, yet Harry remembered feeling rather cold about the gesture, thinking to himself, “That is cold-blooded.”

Prince Harry explained that he felt a sense of unease around her, describing, “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness.”

“She could kill a houseplant with one scowl.” Harry went on to draw parallels between himself and Margaret, noting how both occupied the role of “spare” within the royal family. “Her relationship with Granny [Queen Elizabeth II] 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 wrote.