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The Queen gives her staff this gift for Christmas every year

AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

At the end of the year, it’s common for employers to give their employees a Christmas gift – and the Queen is no exception.

Each year the UK’s longest-reigning monarch gives all 1,500 members of her staff the same thing – a Christmas pudding.

According to the official Royal Family website, the tradition of giving staff a Christmas pudding began with the Queen’s grandfather, King George V and was continued by her father, King George VI.

Now, the Queen carries on the century-old tradition.

The 1,500 Christmas puddings are paid for personally by the Queen and distributed to the staff throughout the palaces. All puddings are accompanied by a greeting card from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The puddings are bought (because hand-making 1,500 puddings is a ludicrous idea) and Hello! suggests the staff are given a Tesco’s Finest Matured Christmas Pudding.

This is just one of the many Christmas traditions the Royal Family uphold.

Others include spending the Christmas break at their Norfolk estate of Sandringham - where Prince Harry and his new fiancée Meghan Markle are expected to join this year.

They also have a blanket rule of no expensive gifts (they reportedly compete to see who can give each other the most ridiculous gift) and presents are opened on Christmas Eve.