Kate Middleton's savage Christmas present to Harry - and he opened it in front of Queen

Even before her royal wedding and joining the royal family, Kate Middleton was very close to her future brother-in-law, Prince Harry.

The two royals have spent a lot of time together over the years, both at public engagements and privately with William and the Cambridge children, and reportedly get on very well.

And they are such good pals that Kate decided to buy Harry a rather bold joke Christmas present one year - and it went down a treat.

The family famously exchange cheap and cheerful joke gifts rather than serious presents, and it sounds like they've come up with some brilliant ideas of the years.

When Harry was single following a string of high-profile relationships, Kate gifted him a 'grow-your-own-girlfriend' kit.

And to make things even funnier, the family all sit down and open their Christmas presents together - which means the Queen would have been watching when Harry opened it up.

Ouch.

Harry's no stranger to a prank present himself, and he apparently once gave his grandmother a shower cap which said 'ain't life a b*tch' on the front.

And Meghan Markle has also had some brilliant offerings, giving the Queen a singing hamster toy at her first royal Christmas in 2017.

The Monarch reportedly loved the gift - but unfortunately, one of her dogs did too and is said to have broken it later that day.

Like many families around the world, the royals' Christmas will be very different this year - and they will be spending it separately.

Rather than travelling to Sandringham, the Queen and Philip will spend the day just the two of them in Windsor, where they have been throughout lockdown.

Kate, William, George, Charlotte and Louis are expected to spend the day with the Middleton family, and Meghan, Harry and Archie will be in America.

Insiders say the Queen's decision to scrap tradition this year will inspire others to be sensible when it comes to their plans as we fight Covid-19.

A Palace source said: “The Queen is acutely aware of the need for caution throughout the crisis and the Christmas period is no different.

“The Queen and The Duke are ­fortunate to spend Christmas with their family every year.

“They understand that their family will have competing demands over the Christmas period and are content to have a quiet festive season this year.

“Like everyone they hope things will get back to normal in 2021.”

It comes after chief medical adviser Professor Chris Whitty last week warned against physical contact with elderly relatives over Christmas.

He said: “Don’t do stupid things.

"Would I encourage someone to hug and kiss their elderly relatives? No I would not.”