EXCLUSIVE: The royal insider has shared what gift Harry was not allowed to give the late Queen.

Harry and the late queen
The prince once wanted to give his grandmother a very funny present (Image: Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Harry may no longer be the most popular royal, but there is no denying that he has always been known for his sense of humour. This trait appears to have been something the young prince possessed from a young age.

Although details from the royal Christmases at Sandringham are not normally revealed, former royal butler and close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales has exclusively told Express.co.uk the one joke Harry once wanted to play on Queen Elizabeth II that could have been a “disaster”. This joke was related to a gag gift that Harry wanted to give his grandmother when he was younger.

However, according to Burrell, Diana stopped her youngest son from giving the late Queen the present, and instead suggested he played the joke on someone else.

Speaking on behalf of Casino.org, Burrell said: “The boys always chose jokey presents. And when Harry once picked a whoopee cushion as Granny’s Christmas present, the Princess gently steered him away and suggested that Grandpa might appreciate that particular gift a little more than Granny would.

“It wouldn’t exactly be right for Granny to sit on a whoopee cushion at Christmas, but Grandpa would see the funny side of it, and he certainly did.

“So disaster was averted. Diana was sensible and gently steered the boys in the right direction. Can you imagine if the Queen had known what they were planning? She’d have said, ‘I know exactly what you’re up to.’”

Princess Diana
Diana encouraged Harry to give the present to another family member, Burrell said (Image: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Burrell continued: “Harry was always the practical joker in the family. I think that’s shone through his personality through the years; he’s the one who was free to have fun.

“William was always worried about the consequences. Harry never was.”

The Royal Family are known to exchange cheap gag presents with one another rather than expensive presents.

Examples of such gifts included a toilet seat, which Princess Anne once gave to King Charles – before he was monarch – in a joke about his future on the throne.