Zara Tindall shares sweet Christmas treat beloved by the late Queen and Prince Philip

For many people, Christmas involves beautiful decorations, delicious food and presents under the tree. Likewise, the British Royal Family share many of these traditions with their subjects and now Zara Tindall has revealed the one Christmas practice especially beloved by the Windsor clan.

Princess Anne’s daughter disclosed her family’s Christmas traditions while attending the Battle of the Commentators charity lunch in London on Wednesday, November 27.

The 43-year-old, who is married to former England rugby player Mike Tindall, delighted fans when she admitted that even the older royals still used Christmas stockings, and the whole family received their gifts before December 25.

“We give presents to each other on Christmas Eve,” Tindall said, through Hello magazine.

Gift giving on Christmas Eve is a German tradition that was introduced to the Royal Family by ancestor Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband and consort.

“As adults, we still have stockings on Christmas Day,” she explained and confirmed that the late Queen and Prince Philip still enjoyed their stockings throughout their lifetimes.

Unfortunately, Zara did not divulge what her grandparents received or what their stockings looked like, but it is well-known that the Royal Family enjoyed giving each other amusing novelty gifts.

However, there comes a point when a joke is taken too far and this was the case with Prince Philip who would often leave the Queen fuming when the family got together.

As part of the documentary Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers the late Duke of Edinburgh’s grandchildren spoke of the prank he would play during family lunches that involved a tube of mustard.

Prince William shared that “Instead of like a mustard pot we’d have a mustard tube, a squeezy mustard tube. And then he’d squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling.”

“He used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother for covering most of the places we had lunch and things with mustard on the ceiling,” he added, as per The Mirror.

Philip’s older grandchildren, Peter Phillips and Zara, also fondly reminisced about their grandfather’s playful antics.

“I can’t remember exactly what he says but he ends up slamming your hands together…. It goes all over the ceiling,” Zara said.

Peter added: “I actually think the marks are still there.”