Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may have carved their own lives in California after stepping down as senior working royals in 2020, but Prince Harry has since revealed there is one royal Christmas tradition he still follows.

Harry explained in his memoir, Spare, that the Sussexes follow a tradition keeping in line with the King’s ancestry, which is of German descent.

He described celebrating one Christmas in Spare: “It was Christmas Eve. We FaceTimed with several friends, including a few in Britain. We watched Archie running around the tree. And we opened presents. Keeping to the Windsor family tradition.”

In Germany, Christmas celebrations begin on December 24, when presents are exchanged and opened, and the Christmas tree is decorated. Known as Heiligabend Bescherung – which translates to ‘Christmas Eve gifts’ – the tradition was introduced to the Royal Family by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was German.

The Royal Family are also known for their gag gifts during Christmas, which they exchange on Christmas Eve to honour their German heritage.

But even the Duke of Sussex, who was said to have a penchant for jokey gifts to his family, was once left baffled by a weird gift he described as “cold-blooded” by one of his relatives.

The royal wrote all about his unusual gift from his great-aunt and the late Queen’s sister Princess Margaret or “Aunt Margo” in his memoir Spare.

As it turned out Princess Margaret got him a “special” biro with a rubber fish wrapped around it, which made him question her intentions.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t join the rest of the Royal Family for Christmas this year as they have reportedly not been invited to the festivities.

They are expected to spend the festive holidays in America instead with their children Prince Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.