Princess Kate was spotted out and about at a local discount store during the festive season a couple years back and the reason is rather comical.

The Princess of Wales will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Sandringham House this year. The Royal Family has a tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve and also showing up with a small, joke present, which Kate has been seen shopping for in the past at The Range.

The Range is a discount store known for having unique gifts, that you may not find elsewhere.

In 2018, Kate was spotted at the store just down the road from Sandringham.

But, she wasn’t alone: she brought her little helpers with her, Prince George, five, and Princess Charlotte, three.

READ MORE: Princess Kate’s plans for Christmas accidentally exposed on Royal Family website 

Local resident, teacher Sarah Daniels, was in the store at the same time, and overheard Kate speaking with her children.

Charlotte needed a little break and sat on the floor with her mother saying to her: “Get up, poppet”. And apparently George was interested in some “dinosaur slime”, but it didn’t appear to be on the shopping list, with Kate not responding to his request.

Daniels didn’t say what Kate ended up picking out – if anything – but in 2015, Prince Harry also took part in the tradition of giving a gag gift. He gave his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, shower cap that read: “Ain’t life a b***h.”

And, when Kate and William were still on speaking terms with Harry, the Waleses gave him a Grow Your Own Girlfriend Kit. And, lo and behold, he met Meghan Markle soon after, making their dating life public in October 2016.

There’s been back and forth about whether or not Harry will be invited to Christmas this year, with the answer being an unlikely “no”. 

The Christmas list is made a year in advance, and last year around that time, Harry was promoting his tell-all book, Spare, which spoke of family affairs. He then went on a media tour to promote the book, which may have knocked him off the list.

Harry would accept an invite if one were to be extended, it’s being said, but King Charles will not be pressured into giving one, according to one family friend.