Prince William Weighs in on a Major Christmas Decorating Debate During IKEA Visit
How early is too early?
Prince William and Princess Kate probably aren’t planning their Christmas decor just yet, if their visit to a Northern Ireland IKEA is any indication. The Prince and Princess of Wales spent the day in Belfast on October 9 to highlight the work being done to combat youth homelessness in the area, and while visiting IKEA to see a job program in action, they came across a Christmas display.
In a video shared by Hello! magazine on Instagram, the Prince of Wales looks at his watch and exclaims, “October the ninth for a Christmas tree?” after walking past a decorated tree in the store.
A laughing Prince William told employees, “That is getting it in early!” adding, "What!" after one of the store's workers shared an inaudible tidbit with him in the clip.
Prince William was surprised to see trees for sale on October 9.
The Prince of Wales chatted with shoppers as he worked at a cash register in the store.
Although William didn’t elaborate about his own decorating plans, Princess Kate once shared the type of Christmas tree they typically buy while visiting a farm in 2019. “She said that they normally have the Nordmann Fir inside that doesn’t drop the needles,” tree farm owner Roger Brill said at the time, per People.
During their outing at IKEA, the Prince and Princess of Wales met with a young woman who got her job through an initiative created by William’s Homewards organization. Homewards was launched in 2023 by the Royal Foundation and is a five-year program to help make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated, with its jobs initiative being piloted in Northern Ireland.
After meeting with business leaders to talk about expanding the career program, William and Kate got some hands-on training themselves working at cash registers in the store. Needless to say, they didn’t pick up any Christmas decorations, but Kate helped some little girls purchase their candy, reminding them, "Don’t forget these."
