Meghan Markle's first gift to late Queen that was almost immediately torn to shreds
For anyone fortunate enough to marry into the Royal Family, their first Christmas at Sandringham would be a nerve racking experience, with the pressure of having to treat all the family to gifts.
The first present Meghan Markle bought for the late Queen was torn to shreds within minutes of being handed over.
For anyone fortunate enough to marry into the Royal Family, their first Christmas at Sandringham would be a nerve-wracking experience, with the pressure of having to treat all the family to gifts.
It's some small relief that the royals tend to prefer to giving each other joke presents such as one famous example - a leather toilet seat and a shower cap which read "Ain't Life a B****".
When it came to Meghan's first attempt, she reportedly gave the late monarch a singing toy hamster, which went down very well with her.
The Queen was said to have remarked: "It can keep my dogs company."
A royal source said: "Meghan bought a little hamster that sings with a little rope for Her Majesty. It was so funny, especially when the corgis tried to take hold of the toy."
But, he Queen wasn't able to enjoy its song for very long as her beloved corgis ended up mauling it to pieces before the festive celebrations were over.
When Kate, Princess of Wales, was due to give her first ever present to the Queen, before Meghan did it was something she had made herself.
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Speaking in an ITV documentary in celebration of the Queen's 90th birthday, Kate said: "I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas. And I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present.
"I was thinking, 'Gosh, what should I give her?' I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents and I thought, 'I'll make her something,' which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny's recipe for chutney. I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table.
"I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me and I've noticed since she's done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after everybody."
