The queen does not mess around when it comes to Christmas, mixing old traditions with newly adopted ones. For example, the royal family opens presents on Christmas Eve because it was the German tradition to do so, and the royal family is of German descent. However, the way the Queen buys gifts for her staff is ......" .

According to royal biographer Brian Hoey, a 2013 contributor to Wales Online, the queen's intense gift-giving regime, like many aspects of royal life, is extremely rule-oriented. One of these is that staff members, who must have served for at least one year, are required to send a note to the queen sometime in March about what they want for Christmas.

Second, the staff, of which there were more than 550 at the time this article was published, including part-time employees, must limit the price range of what they choose. As Prince Charles says, "You can't give anything 'above your station,'" Hoey writes. Younger staff members are limited to £25, which increases with years of service.

When Christmas finally approaches, the Queen hands the gifts directly to the staff: "The staff member whose name is called by the head chamberlain proceeds to meet the queen and is handed a gift by the queen. The staff member whose name is called by the head chamberlain proceeds to meet the queen and is handed a present by the queen. Of course they do. After all, they chose it themselves nine months ago," Hoey wrote.

And while it may seem a bit calculating to say that this is really in keeping with the holiday spirit, don't worry. At least one staff member who spoke to Hoey at the time was as regular as the Queen:

"There is one longtime footman who has been there for 28 years and he collects the dinner service. So far he only gets one cup and saucer or plate each year, and he said it would take him 40 years to get the whole set"

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The proximity of gift-giving will probably not happen this year, as the Queen has put most Christmas events on hold in light of the surge in Omicron variants, but it is almost certain that the staff still received gifts from Her Majesty.

One thing they will not experience, however, is the annual Christmas dance. However, because guests are allowed a plus-one, each staff member is only invited every other year due to space constraints.

Hopefully next year they will fully carry on the Christmas tradition.