The meaningful gifts the Royal Family have given the Queen for her birthday

21 April 2022, 12:37

By Alice Dear

@According2Al

As Queen Elizabeth II turns 96, we take a look at the birthday gifts she has received from her family over the years.

The Queen celebrates her 96th birthday on April 21 this year, the same year the Her Majesty marks 70 years on the throne.

The monarch, who is marking her second birthday without her beloved husband Prince Philip, is spending the day at the Duke of Edinburgh's cottage on her Sandringham estate.

The Queen always marks her actual birthday privately with friends and family, and then celebrates publicly with the nation during Trooping the Colour, which happens every June.

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While the Queen's birthday is a joyous occasion, one group of people we feel very sorry for is the rest of the Royal Family who have to work out what to buy the Sovereign every year.

Prince William has previously admitted it is "quite hard" to know what to buy the Queen, and especially finding something she doesn't already have.

So, what do the Royal Family buy the Queen for her birthday?

Of course, we don't know every gift that has been exchanged between the royals and the Queen over the years, as a lot of these details are kept private and within the family.

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However, over the years we have got an idea of the types of gifts the Queen receives from her family.

First up is the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who have previously admitted they turn to their children to create gifts for their great-grandmother.

During an interview with the BBC on the Queen's 91st birthday, Prince William said: "It's quite hard to know what to give the Queen for her 91st birthday, that she hasn't already got."

He added: "With the great-grandchildren around you see they can make stuff, and that goes down really well. It doesn't matter what it looks like, it just goes down really well. So, we stick to those sorts of presents."

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It turns out the homemade gift approach is common within the Royal Family, as Kate Middleton has previously revealed the small but meaningful gift she gave the Queen one Christmas.

During an interview for an ITV documentary for the Queen's 90th birthday, the Duchess of Cambridge explained how she made chutney to give to the Queen during her first Christmas at Sandringham.

Kate explained at the time: "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."

She continued: "But I decided to make my granny's recipe of 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."

While William and Kate opt for homemade gifts, Prince Harry is believed to steer more towards humorous presents.

Back in 2016, it was reported that the Duke of Sussex prepared a performance alongside ventriloquist Nina Conti for the Queen during a birthday dinner with the family.

At the time, a HELLO! magazine's source said: "It was genuinely brilliant.

"He must have been practising it because he had to do the actions in time with her speaking. It was intensely funny because he was so good."

One person we are sure made the Queen's birthday special every year is the late Prince Philip.

According to reports, the Duke of Edinburgh would carry out the same romantic gesture every morning on Her Majesty's birthday.

In an article published in the Montreal Gazette back in 1976, they reveal that Philip would always place a flower on his wife's birthday breakfast tray.

The article, which was shared by royal commentator Victoria Arbiter on Twitter last year, explained: "Birthday morning the queen will find a flower on her breakfast tray – a token her husband never forgets."

Read more Royal Family news:

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• The Queen's sweet nod to Prince Philip in new birthday photo