Back in 2012, it was widely reported that the Duchess of Cambridge was into making jams and giving them out as gifts.
In fact, royal reporter Katie Nicholl specified that Catherine “started making homemade pots of fruit jam” while William worked as a search-and-rescue pilot for the RAF in Wales.
“She gave strawberry jam and plum preserves out as Christmas presents” in 2011, Nicholls reported.
Catherine more or less confirmed this during a teaser for the upcoming ITV documentary, The Queen at 90.
Stephen Butler / Splash News
On Sunday 27 March at 8pm @ITV will broadcast a two-hour landmark programme celebrating our #Queenat90https://t.co/uAqOlkW2ki
— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) March 19, 2016
In her first interview since becoming engaged to Prince William in November 2010, Catherine spoke of gifting Her Majesty during the holidays.
The royal family adheres to the German tradition of opening gifts on Christmas eve; expensive presents are discouraged, while small trinkets and gag gifts are encouraged.
“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,” Catherine recalled, according to the Telegraph.
The Duchess speaks of HM’s love for family & reveals that George calls his great grandmother ‘Gan-Gan’ #Queenat90https://t.co/JyRSdYI7do
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 19, 2016
“I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’
Chris Jackson/WPA-Pool
“I thought back to what would I 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 of chutney.”
It’s believed that Catherine made “Granny’s Marrow Chutney,” the same recipe featured in Pippa Middleton’s 2012 cookbook, Celebrate.
“I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table,” Catherine remembered.
“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.”
Hopefully Pippa’s book got a little sales boost out of the plug, since initially the book wasn’t a huge success.
Stephen Butler / Splash News
The Queen at 90 premieres March 27th at 8pm in the UK.
Leave a Reply