Marks and spencers hampers for christmas

The best Christmas hampers feel like a treat and are full of festive food and drink like chutneys, biscuits, cheese and wine. Food hampers make failsafe Christmas presents and they're the most exciting way to stock up for Christmas entertaining.

"I love a hamper. Nothing beats the thrill of digging into a big box to discover a lavish lucky dip of delicious goodies, not one present but several," says Xanthe Clay, chef and Telegraph food writer. "The best hampers combine luxury with surprise and exclusivity. Luxury, because gifts are best when they are just a bit extravagant: the sort of thing you’d like to buy for yourself, but can’t quite justify."

Scroll down for our full reviews of this year's 25 best hampers, as well as some advice on how to choose the best one for you. But if you're in a hurry, here are our top six:

Which is the best food hamper for Christmas 2022? At a glance

If you're getting ready for Christmas, you may also want to read our guides to the best artificial Christmas trees, the best children's toys, the best Christmas gifts for women and the best Christmas gifts for men – as well as the best Christmas gifts overall, of course. But really, when it comes to the perfect gift for a loved one, you can't beat a hamper. Here's our guide to the best Christmas food hampers to gift in 2022.

Best Christmas hampers

1. The Fortnum’s Classic Christmas hamper

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a wicker box stamped with that distinctive F&M. Fortnum & Mason’s food hampers are synonymous with Christmas gifting, and this year’s offering doesn’t disappoint. Start with Fortnum’s Blancs de Noirs champagne (or if it’s too early, a cup of Royal Blend Loose Leaf tea). Then move onto the broad range of sweet and savoury treats to accompany your Christmas dinner: festive pickle, cognac butter, orange and chocolate biscuits, a Christmas pudding, and a bottle of red wine.

You can spend less, or far more, depending on budget – Fortnum & Mason's hampers start from £45 for The Nice List Gift Box and rise until you reach the last word in luxury gifting, the Imperial hamper, which costs an eye-watering £6,000.

(Or you could just get their £22 mini hamper Christmas decoration to hang on your tree.)

Inside: Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Champagne, Christmas Pecan and Ginger Biscuits, Boxing Day Pickle, Marc de Champagne Truffles

2. Jikoni Hug in a Box Christmas hamper

One of Xanthe Clay's top hampers is from the Indian and Middle Eastern-fusion restaurant Jikoni in Marylebone, London. "My favourite hampers are the ones which include lovely stuff I can’t get elsewhere," she says. The Jikoni Hug in a Box is made by chef Ravinder Bhogal, and includes a choice of chutneys, including a banana ketchup flavour, napkins and English Sparkling wine to accompany. The hamper is bursting with global flavours and suits a foodie.

Inside: Banana ketchup, Bengali Tomato and Beetroot Chutneys, Paan and Cashew Fudge, South Pickenham English Sparkling Wine

For a value option from the supermarket kings of Christmas, try this Marks and Spencer Christmas hamper. Don’t think it’s not suitably luxurious, though. It contains everything you need for the savoury Christmas of dreams, including Claret wine, date, biscuits, shortbread, and chutney. As with all the best food hampers it also comes with a luxurious wicker basket that can be recycled time and time again.

Inside: Classic Claret, Date, Plum and Hazelnut Biscuits, All Butter Shortbread Petticoat Tails, Festive Chutney

4. Waitrose & Partners Christmas Treats Gift Box

For a budget Christmas hamper, visit John Lewis.

This box of Waitrose treats includes mulled wine, shortbread biscuits, stollen and nuts, as well as novelty goodies (mince pie fudge and Christmas tree-shaped tortillas). Waitrose has embraced the shaped foods this year, as the shortbread is also star-shaped. This hamper is best consumed on Christmas Eve in front of a roaring fire, with the biscuits passed round in a bowl.

Inside: Mulled Wine, Nut Mix, Whole Stollen, Mince Pie Fudge, Tortilla Shaped Christmas Trees

5. Harrods The Grosvenor Christmas Hamper

Coming complete with Louie, the Harrods Christmas bear for 2022, the Grovesner Hamper from Harrods is as luxurious as you'd hope. There's a selection of Christmas Spiced tea, Cranberry Sauce with Port, brandy butter, mince pies, biscuits and chocolate.

There's not even a whiff of alcohol in this hamper, though, if that's what you're after. Instead, this is a wholesome collection of sweet treats.

Inside: Christmas Spiced Black Tea, Cranberry Sauce with Port, shortbread, brand butter

6. Selfridges Classic Christmas Hamper

The Selfridges Classic Hamper is a no frills, quintessentially British hamper full of everything you'd find on a tabletop around Christmas. There's brandy butter, mulled wine, and Christmas pudding. All that can be finished off with a Christmas Spiced Tea, the Festive biscuit selection and Candy Cane chocolate. It's simple, boozy and full of seasonal necessities.

Inside: Christmas Pudding chocolate bar, traditional Christmas pudding, Christmas Spiced Tea, biscuit selection

The John Lewis Spirit of Christmas Basket is always one of the most popular Christmas hampers because there really is something for everyone. There's Prosecco, mulled wine and merlot for the drinkers, cheese and mince pies for the sweet toothed and Christmas Pudding for the traditionalists. The products are all wrapped in black and gold packaging so everything feels luxurious, but still festive.

Inside: San Leo Prosecco DOC, Maple Falls Mulled Wine, Farmhouse Shortbread, Yorkshire Crisps, strawberry jam

8. The Daylesford Collection Hamper

Go organic with this luxury option from Daylesford, which comes complete with a useful navy cool-bag.

Inside you'll find a selection of boxing day type foods, including chutneys, cheese and wine. Daylesford plant a tree for every order made.

Inside: Fig and balsamic chutney, smoked salmon, mince pies, picalilli, Prosecco and more

9. Cartwright & Butler The Festive Favourites Wicker Hamper

Cartwright & Butler's festive hamper is full of all the type of pantry items you save for 'a special occasion'. Think Cranberry and Rolled Oat Crumbles, Chilli and Garlic seeded flatbread crackers, Rum and Raisins Fudge and Dark Chocolate Florentines. It all comes complete with a bottle of Prosecco, and Mulled Wine Spice Bags which can be infused into any red wine.

Inside: Boxing Day Chutney, Spiced Winter Blend Loose Leaf Tea Caddy, Cheese Wafers with Honey Mustard

10.

The White Company festive hamper is new this year and full of winter scents. The smells inside include Winter, Fir Tree, Highland Escape, Myrrh and Midnight, and the products include a signature candle, a home spray, a botanical candle, fragrance oils, a mango-wood botanical candle plate, and even an electronic diffuser. If the food's already sorted for Christmas but you still want something special, this hamper presented in a wicker basket could be a winner.

Inside: Fir Tree Hand Poured Botanical Candle, Midnight Home Spray, Winter candle, Electronic Diffuser

11. Harvey Nichols Winter Wonderland Hamper

The Harvey Nichols Winter Wonderland Hamper is one of the only to include a Champagne rather than a cheaper form of sparkling wine.

The indulgence doesn't stop there, there are also gin infused truffles, shortbread, fluffy marshmallows and tea. If the Champagne wasn't enough to quench your thirst, the hamper also comes with a Snow Globe Orange and Gingerbread Gin Liqueur.

Inside: Premier Cru Champagne, shortbread studded with chocolate, White Tea, Orange and Gingerbread Gin Liqueur

12. Whittard The Christmas Collection Hamper

The perfect gift for any hot drink lover, the Whittard Christmas Collection Hamper comes with two types of tea, ground coffee and two hot chocolates. Of course, every great cup of tea needs an accompaniment, so there are also Christmas Pudding All Butter Biscuits. Everything comes in Whittard's famous tins which can be recycled and refilled long after Christmas is over.

Inside: Festive Breakfast Loose Tea Clip Top Tin, Christmas Tea, Christmas Coffee, Limited Edition Christmas Hot Chocolate

13. Lindt Christmas Collection Hamper

It's not a Christmas without Lindt chocolate and this Christmas Collection Hamper is full of all our favourites. There are Lindt chocolate teddies, chocolate Santas, Lindor truffles galore and more mini chocolate figurines, The entire chocolate hamper weighs 1.5kg so it's sure to keep even the biggest chocaholic going throughout Christmas, and maybe even into the New Year.

Inside: Lindor Milk Chocolate Mini Truffles, Santa Milk Chocolate, Lindor Double Chocolate Mini Truffles

14. Rick Stein Christmas Essentials Hamper

All the sweet and savoury Christmas essentials you need, including Christmas pudding, oat biscuits, pickle, florentines and specially selected red and white wines, in a reusable wicker hamper with plastic-free packaging.

The box is full of Stein family favourites and the chutneys are all made in house by the Stein Padstow chefs, as is the Christmas pudding.

Inside: Spanish red wine, Spanish white wine, Savoury Oat Biscuits with Cornish Sea Salt, Spicy Apple and Walnut Chutney

15. River Café Italian Favourites Box

Is it still a hamper when it's bright pink? We're going to say yes, especially when this Christmas gift box from the Michelin-starred London restaruant has so many beautiful Italian foods inside, as well as a signed book of easy, fun recipes (the 'Look Book') by chefs Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli. The River Café's gift boxes this year range from a £100 Essentials Bag to a £1,000 Ultimate Box including a bottle of Krug and a coffee-maker among its goodies.

Inside: olive oil, cantucci, negroni, tomatoes, truffles, panettone, tagliolini and a cookbook

16. Thorntons Ultimate Christmas Wicker Hamper

For £100, chocalatiers Thorntons are selling an Ultimate Christmas Hamper, which includes a collection of chocolate boxes, a chocolate polar bear, reindeer and elf, fudge, toffeee, truffles and topped up by a bottle of Bottega Gold Prosecco. There's a range of white, milk and dark chocolate as well as mint, honeycomb and orange flavours, so it's the perfect hamper for a family with different tastes.

Inside: Reindeer Milk Chocolate Model, Special Toffee Bag, Continental Viennese Truffle Bag, Bottega Gold Prosecco

17. The GAIL's Christmas Hamper

The GAIL’s Christmas Hamper is back and filled to the brim with all of the festive necessities, without causing unneeded food waste.

The hamper includes a Wasteless Sourdough, a stick of Quicke’s whey butter, a jar of both Seville Orange Marmalade and a Chocolate & Hazelnut spread, a Babka loaf, six Christmas Buns, four Penguin Biscuits, a pack each of Nut Biscuits, Cheese Crackers and Seeded Crackers and of course six mince pies. The hamper comes packed in a GAIL's branded tote bag.

Inside: Sourdough loaf, Cheese Crackers, Seeded Crackers, mince pies, Seville Orange Marmalade

18. The Dorchester Christmas Hamper

The Dorchester Christmas Hamper is as premium as you might expect, with Speciality Arabica Coffee and Jing Chai Tea for the morning, and a Dorchester mug to drink that from, of course, and Veuve Clicquot Champagne for later on. As for food, you'll find Winter Rose Jam, Rhubarb Chutney, Stollen, chocolate, Christmas Pudding and mince pies.

Finish it off in the evening with the 20cl bottle of Old Tom Gin and Bermondsey Tonic.

Inside: Mince pies, Christmas Pudding, Winter Rose Jam, Rhubarb Chutney, Chai Tea, Veuve Clicquot Champagne

19. The Dishoom Hamper

First opened in Covent Garden in 2010, Dishoom's cool 'mid-century Bombay' aesthetic and street-inspired Indian menu became such a cult hit that people now queue round the block to get into its nine locations in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham. For everyone else, the best way to get a taste of their famous House Chai, Permit Room Old-Fashioned and Padmini Negroni is this Christmas hamper.

Inside: two Indian cocktails, two relishes, loose leaf chai with two glasses and strainer, tea towel, calendar and more

20.

Packed inside a sustainably sourced gift box, Paxton and Whitfield has curated the perfect hamper for cheese lovers, at a budget price. The hamper includes everything you need for a balanced cheese board, including the obvious, the cheese, as well as biscuits, festive chutney and gingerbread trees.

Inside: Smoked Ceodre Cheddar, Mini Waxed Stilton, Etoile de Gatine goat's milk cheese, Spiced Plum Chutney

21. Dukes Hill Jingle Bells Hamper

The Dukes Hill Jingle Bells Hamper is one of the brand's most affordable hampers, without compromising on contents.

Inside you'll find a selection of the ham Dukes Hill is so well known for, as well as salmon, Cheddar and chutney, Christmas pudding, gingerbread, shortbread, panettone and chocolate.

Inside: Honey Baked Baby Ham, Oak Smoked Salmon, Barbers Black Waxed Cheddar, Apple and Sultana Chutney

22. Bella Vita Classic Christmas Hamper

Bella Vita's traditional Italian Christmas hamper features everything you'd expect, including two types of pasta, a truffle flavoured olive oil, pesto sauce, ragu sauce, and a fancy jar of tuna. All of this is topped off with a bottle of Berlucchi Cuvee Imperiale.

Inside: panettone, chocolate truffles, two types of pasta, pesto and ragu sauce, truffle flavoured extra virgin olive oil

23.

London based deli and food shop has launched its own Christmas hampers full of proper British produce. Inside the 'Oh I wish it could be Christmas everyday' Hamper, which is mid range in price, you'll find a bottle of Prosecco, and English Breakfast Tea for first thing, marmalade, mustard, salted almonds, cocoa and more.

Inside: Montepulciano Vola Vole, Red Onion Marmalade, English Mustard, English Breakfast Tea, Salted Almonds

24. Odysea Greek Wine and Meze Hamper

For something a bit different, enter this Greek Odysea Wine and Meze Hamper. Inside you'll find a collection of Greek wine from Tertramythos, as well as olives and meze dips.

From harissa houmous to spicy ajvar, double stuffed green olives and gherkin stuffed olives alongside organic white and red wine, it's the perfect hamper for a Mediterranean party.

Inside: Organic white and red wine, harissa houmous, spicy ajvar, double stuffed green olives, large cotton tote bag

25. The Oldstead Ultimate Festive Feast Hamper

Yorkshire based brand Made in Oldstead is selling, in their own words, the 'Ultimate Festive Feast Hamper' and, based on the contents, we wouldn't like to argue. Inside is a full menu of grazing food, snacks and festive tipples. You'll find a sourdough loaf, a whole glazed ham and salmon, Christmas Cake, mince pies and hot chocolate, and Bucks Fizz, cocktails and wine.

Inside: Black Garlic Glazed Ham, Cured Meat Selection, Three Courtyard Cheeses, Mince Pies, Fudge, Sour Cherry Nougat, Bourbon Eggnog, Bucks Fizz

FAQ

How to choose the best Christmas hamper

"Look for lovely packaging, especially reusable kind.

A jolly tin will become a familiar friend over the years – the eau-de-nil Fortnum’s ones are particularly covetable and add glamour to the kitchen cupboard," she says. "What the hamper comes in matters too: a nest of glittery cellophane can’t even be recycled, but a wicker basket is endlessly useful for storage."

What should be in a Christmas hamper?

Most recipients will be delighted with Christmas staples like Christmas pudding, spiced preserves, mince pies, chocolates and mulled wine. Cheese and crackers are usually included for savoury variety, plus a bottle of mulled wine or prosecco for the grown-ups. But don't forget that not everyone likes traditional British Christmas fare (or at least not so much of it), which is why we recommend Jikoni's Indian hamper, River Café's Italian hamper and the tea, coffee and hot chocolate hamper from Whittard. You can also get mini-hampers that fit through a letterbox at M&S and elsewhere.

Christmas shopping guides from The Telegraph

Getting ready for Christmas? You may want to read our guides to the best artificial Christmas trees, the best children's toys, the best Christmas gifts, the best Christmas gifts for women and the best Christmas gifts for men.

We also have more specific gift guides this year. They include the best Secret Santa gifts, the best Christmas gifts for gardeners, the best Christmas food gifts, the best Christmas alcohol gifts and the best Christmas home gifts.

And, as Christmas dinner approaches, why not read our guides to the best Christmas crackers, the best Christmas table decorations and supermarket Christmas food delivery slots? There are plenty more ideas for Christmas dinner on Telegraph Food & Drink.

The best Marks and Spencer Christmas hampers and food gifts | Wellbeing

If you're looking for a thoughtful prezzie for a food lover in your life, then aChristmas hamper is an excellent gift for foodies or drink connoisseurs. Some even make great activities too — with baking sets, gingerbread house kits and afternoon-tea picnic baskets.

If there is one thing M&S always deliver on its luxury — whether it's their Christmas food, party food or even their dine-in-meals for two, one thing you can assure this retailer never skimps on is quality.

All of these hampers are high-quality, carefully curated and beautifully presented too. Plus, most of the hampers we have selected either come with a wicker basket or a reusable jute bag that you can reuse for future picnics or hampers.

With that in mind, here are our picks from this year’s amazing range of Marks and Spencer's Christmas hampers, which you can send right to your loved one's doorstep, or directly to yours.

The best Marks and Spencer hampers for Christmas

Eat, drink and be merry with our round-up of our favourite M&S Christmas hampers and food gifts.

Best value Christmas hamper

Description

This highly rated festive wicker hamper has been filled with tasty treats and nibbles, including

Contents: Cotes Du Rhone Villages (75cl) (Alcohol content- 14 per cent), Cornish Cruncher All Butter Biscuits (80g), Single Origin Dark Milk Chocolate (100g), Collection Milk Chocolate Florentines (170g), Collection Rye Sourdough Crackers (130g), Collection Apple and fig chutney (100g), All butter shortbread fingers (84g), Wicker Basket

Best for afternoon tea lovers

Description

What's better than afternoon tea? Afternoon tea with a festive twist, of course! Perfect for those

Contents: 9 Mini Festive Cupcakes (229g), Mini Christmas Colin the Caterpillars (180g), Luxury Gold Tea Light Up Lantern (125g), All Butter Scottish Shortbread Petticoat Tails (450g), 4 Devon Scones (280g), Merry Berry Cherry Jam (340g)

Best for cheese cravers

Description

Christmas wouldn't be complete without some cheese.

Inside this rustic crate you'll be sure to get

Contents: Collection Quince and Pear Fruit for Cheese (120g), Collection Rye Sourdough Crackers (130g), Collection Fig, Apple & Balsamic Fruit for Cheese (120g), Cropwell Bishop Mature Blue Stilton (200g), Truffle Cheddar (200g), Brie de Meaux (200g), Reserve Gruyere (150g), Wooden Crate, Cool Bag

Description

Treat someone to a pantry full of everything they need to enjoy luxury of the festive period. This

Contents: Prosecco (75cl) (Alcohol content – 11 per cent), Collection Twelve Month Matured Christmas Pudding (454g), Collection British Set Honey with Orange and Cinnamon (250g), Collection Marie Rose Sauce (180g), Collection Biscuits for Cheese Carton (260g), Collection Quince and Pear Fruit for Cheese (120g), Collection Cranberry and Port Sauce (215g), Collection Clotted Creamed Horseradish and Pink Peppercorn (180g), Collection Festive Chutney (225g), Wicker Basket

Description

This hamper from M&S might just be considered the ultimate Christmas hamper because it has

Contents: Champagne Delacourt Brut (75cl) (Alcohol content- 12.

50 per cent), Clocktower Sauvignon Blanc (75cl) (Alcohol content- 14 per cent), Côtes Du Rhône Villages (75cl) (Alcohol content- 14 per cent), British Orchard Apple Pressé (750ml), Collections Jewelled Fruit & Nut Cake (755g), Collection Crackling Chocolate Logs (1.37kg), Collection 6 Mince Pies (334g), Collection Liquid Dusted Salted Caramels (120g), Collection Fig, Apple & Balsamic Fruit for Cheese (120g), Collection Chilli & Piquillo Pepper Chutney (235g), Collection Quince and Pear Fruit for Cheese (120g), Collection Rosemary & Olive Crackers (130g), Collection Serrano Chilli, Garlic & Lime Nut Selection (150g), Collection Salted Caramel Golden Blond Nut Selection (150g), Collection All Butter Parmesan and Chilli Shortbread (80g), Collection Scottish Mild & Delicate Smoked Salmon (300g), Cocktail Blinis (112g), Collection Extra Large Cured Pork Pie (780g), Continental Cheese Selection (540g), Collection Chicken Liver Parfait (175g), Whipped soft creamy cheese (150g), Wicker Basket, Cool bag

Best festive hamper for kids

Description

This treat bag is ideal for budding little bakers.

Inside this Santa sack you'll find baking kits

Contents: Simply Mix, Bake and Create Build Your Own Snowman Cupcake kit (363g), Christmas Gingerbread Baubles Kit (161g), Simply Mix, Bake and Create Cinnamon roll kit (490g), Christmas Gingerbread House Kit (645g), Winter Wonderland Sprinkles (70g), Hot Chocolate Stirrer Trio (150g)Santa Sack

Best vegan Christmas hamper

Description

M&S cater to all different nutrition requirements so everyone can enjoy a festive feast. Inside

Contents: Vegan Chocolate and Coconut Flavour Liqueur (70cl) (Alcohol content- 12%), Made Without Wheat Christmas Pudding 6 Month Matured (400g), Plant Kitchen 4 Mince Pies (249g), Plant Kitchen Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread (200g), Plant Kitchen Dark Chocolate, Cranberry and Hazelnut Cookie (200g), Vegan Salted Caramels (125g), Lightly Salted Tortilla Stars (175g), Juco Shopper Bag

Best savoury Christmas hamper

Description

If you know someone who prefers savoury over sweet, then this is the hamper for them.

Filled with

Contents: Collection Festive Chutney (225g), Collection Pickled Walnuts (310g), Cropwell Bishop Mature Blue Stilton (200g), 2 Years Old Cornish Cruncher Extra Mature Cheddar (170g), Collection Handcrafted Cranberry Topped Pork Pie (440g), Collection Handcrafted Extra Large Sausage Roll (420g), Collection 3 Bird Rillette (150g), Wooden Crate

Best cosy Christmas hamper

Description

Add some extra sparkle to this year's celebrations with The M&S Light Up Collection. This charming

Contents: Shortbread Light Up Lantern (230g), Hot Chocolate Light Up Lantern (100g), Luxury Gold Tea Light Up Lantern (125g), Christmas Light Up Candle, Juco Shopper Bag

Description

Chocolate lovers will have a field day chomping through this luxurious gift bag filled with

Contents: Prosecco (75cl) (Alcohol content- 11 per cent), Marc de Champagne Truffles (125g), Perfectly Matured Rich Fruit Cake (340g), Matured Christmas Pudding (100g), Single Origin Dominican Republic Dark Milk Chocolate (100g), Gift Box

Are Christmas hampers worth the money?

It depends on what you get in them as some hampers are typically good value for what you pay for, but with others, it would be cheaper to buy bits individually and for you to make yourself.

It is always worth working out the total cost of the contents of the hamper you are considering. One thing to note is that with a hamper, you sometimes get a wicker basket too, which can be reused for picnics or storage - which makes it worthwhile.

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us

Hostage of the Windsors. Which Princess Diana was shown in Spencer

Country road, Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) in a Chanel jacket drives her little sporty Porsche.

In the field, her attention is drawn to a scarecrow in a brick-colored Barbour jacket (a favorite brand of the royal family). Without thinking for a minute, Diana climbs over the fence and walks on her heels across the field to the scarecrow. She takes the jacket, which she later hangs up in her room in the castle.

Pablo Larrain, director of the film about the Kennedy widow, Jackie Onassis, "Jackie" (with Natalie Portman), this time wanted his film to be "not a traditional biopic" but rather "a fable-like tragedy." He planned to film three days in the life of the Princess of Wales when she arrives at 1991 to Sandringham Palace to celebrate Christmas with the royal family. In theory, it was these three days that became fatal for the marriage of Diana and Charles. She was driven crazy by the mistress of the prince, and this gave a serious crack, both in the relationship of the couple, and in the mental state of Diana, nee Spencer.

Larraine, who has made several critical films about the dictatorship in his native Chile, seems determined from the first minute of Spencer to expose the totalitarian habits of the British royal family.

The preparation of products for the Christmas menu is shown in the film akin to a military operation. A column of camouflaged vehicles loaded with military personnel brings metal refrigerators to the palace and unloads them in formation into the kitchen. “Speak as quietly as possible. They can hear you! - reads a sign posted in the kitchen and facing the staff. Before the holidays, all guests of Sandringham Palace are weighed - a ritual "for a laugh", according to which all members of the royal family must gain at least one and a half kilograms of weight over Christmas (as evidence that the family has eaten deliciously). All of Diana's outfits are marked "P.O.W.", which of course means "Princess of Wales", but here the director hints at another decoding of the abbreviation - "Prisoner of War" - "Prisoner of War". All the curtains in the palace are tightly drawn during the day, as the paparazzi are watching the castle. nine0003

Diana is infuriated by every one of the above circumstances.

Starting with the fact that she suffers from bulimia, and at night she gorges herself on cakes in the pantry, and then puts two fingers in her mouth over the toilet. In this regard, it is extremely painful for her to attend royal family dinners. To such an extent - that it turns into a nightmare in which she eats from the soup the pearls that hung around her neck before. In addition, Diana is the ghost of Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded by her husband, Henry VIII, to marry another. During the day she reads a book about Boleyn, and, of course, finds parallels with the fate of the queen. And then there's a headless mannequin with a Barbour jacket draped over his shoulders, with which Diana also associates herself. So who is she - the "People's Princess", the favorite of all Britain, Cinderella or a prisoner of the Windsor family? nine0003

Pablo Larrain clearly hints that the latter is more likely. Kristen Stewart, who is a whole thirteen centimeters shorter than the real Diana (and this is striking) echoes the author.

Especially for this role, she invented a peculiar language, speaking almost throughout the film in a whisper. They say that Larrain dreamed of seeing only Stewart in the role of the princess, but then he clearly missed the mark - the actress behaves unnaturally and for a single minute the viewer does not forget that it is not Diana herself, but Kristen Stewart in her role. It must be said that Larraine's Jackie was not a very successful film - insipid, even, not inventive, in which Kennedy's widow said some very banal things. So Stuart's range of roles is not great - "there are devils in the still waters." nine0003

Focusing entirely on Diana, Larraine does not reveal the identity of any of the accompanying characters - neither Prince Charles nor Queen Elizabeth, limiting herself to a gaggle of accompanying corgis everywhere. The film wanders somewhere between psychodrama, horror and family history, being an example of a typical art mainstream. Although we must pay tribute to the camera of the winner of the "Cesar" Claire Mathon ("Little Mama", "Atlantic"), which knows how to make literally every second beautiful.

But Pablo Larrain failed the main thing: to make every second interesting. nine0003

"Spencer": how the royal family, food and Charles' mistress drove Princess Diana crazy

On December 9, the film "Spencer" by Chilean director Pablo Larrain is released in Russian cinemas. This is an anti-biopic about how the royal family spent the Christmas holidays in 1991 and why those three days drove Princess Diana crazy Emma) met Alice Schertz, the agent of American actress Kristen Stewart (the Twilight saga). He told her that he plans to make Spencer, a film about how Princess Diana spent the Christmas holidays at Sandringham Palace with the royal family. “It will be a kind of fable, an abstract fairy tale - anything but a traditional biographical drama,” promised Larrain Schertz. He dreamed that it was Stewart who played Diana, because he was sure that only Kristen was brave enough, sincere and fearless to fulfill this role in such a film. Hearing the offer, the actress said that she would never refuse. nine0003

When Larraine found out that Stewart was willing to play in the film, he started looking for a screenwriter. Pablo's main idea was that not a single person in the world really knows who Princess Diana is. “Perhaps Diana is the most mysterious and at the same time the most famous personality of the 20th century,” Larrain explained the idea. He did not plan to shoot a biopic and did not want to concentrate on documentary and authenticity, although he did an excellent job with this genre, working on the picture "Jackie". nine0003

Related material

Pablo invited screenwriter Steven Knight, best known for Peaky Blinders, to take the chair. On the one hand, Knight knows how to work with historical texture, and on the other hand, he knows how to add drama to the fire so that the picture does not look bland and even banal. Steven wrote the script for Spencer in just a month. He conducted a series of interviews with people (who were his sources, Find did not disclose) who worked for Princess Diana while she was part of the royal family, and decided that the picture would be dedicated to the Christmas holidays at 1991 year.

For three days, all the representatives of the royal family came to Sandringham Palace to celebrate Christmas. According to Knight, it was then that Prince Charles and Diana realized that their marriage was over, that they could no longer tolerate each other and portray at least some semblance of love. “Absolutely, it was on that Christmas that Diana realized that she had had enough. And I thought that the Christmas holidays are the perfect setting for the film, because there are a lot of visual images associated with them, and very strong emotions. And in such an atmosphere of Christmas Eve and Christmas, we will be able to find out and show who Diana was and what was going on in her head,” Knight commented on the script. nine0003

The plot of Spencer really focuses entirely on what goes on in Diana's head. This is a very beautiful, disturbing and metaphorical visualization of the madness that every day captures the princess more and more. Diana is driven crazy by Charles' affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, the ceremoniality of the royal family and an endless number of rules and traditions, the need to constantly eat and enjoy food (for many years Diana struggled with bulimia - an eating disorder), the requirement to live with drawn curtains, because behind the palace dozens of paparazzi are watching, silence and dust, which lies in thick layers on antique furniture. nine0003

Spencer only needs to spend three days in the yard, but they seem endless to her. Time in the palace turns into quicksand, into which Diana falls, not knowing when she will finally find solid ground under her feet. She believes that the royal family has no future. The Windsor dynasty is hopelessly behind the world, confused about where is the past and where is the present. And if the representatives of the royal family are satisfied with a measured life according to the rules of the Victorian era, then Diana feels suffocated and loses touch with reality. She begins to imagine Anna Boleyn in the palace, whose fate reminds the princess of her own. Henry VIII beheaded his wife in order to live happily with his mistress. It seems to Diana that Charles would also be happy to get rid of her, only Spencer is not able to lay down her head as meekly and humbly. nine0003

Everything is predetermined in the royal family - nothing can be changed and nothing can be argued with, but Diana's rebellious nature simply does not allow her to give up. She confesses to her eldest son William that she enjoys angering the royal family. And although Diana tries not to do stupid things for the sake of children, she can no longer control her own madness.

Related material

On the way to the palace, the princess notices a scarecrow in the field, on which they put on an old brick-colored Barbour waxed jacket (a favorite clothing brand of the royal family, all representatives of the dynasty go hunting in such jackets). Diana remembers how, as a child, she and neighbor friends dressed up a scarecrow. She takes off her jacket and takes it with her to mend and clean. Diana wants to restore integrity and meaning to this “barbour”, because she feels like the same unsightly, scary and repulsive scarecrow in the royal family. nine0003

Larrain constantly stresses how out of place Diana looks in the castle. Gloomy gothic architecture, overcast weather and constant fog, utilitarian dark blue cars, restrained outfits of earthy shades, undertones, stern faces and unsettling classical music - this is what Britain looks like for the royal family. And Diana, driving through Norfolk in a green Porsche convertible in a color-block Chanel jacket (the royal family wears only British brands), is a malicious charter violator and a constant cause for irritation and concern. nine0003

If Diana goes mad, it will play into the hands of the royal family. This will be an excuse to get rid of her and forget about the constant drama

Firstly, Diana does not want to weigh herself, and this is a mandatory tradition. In 1847, Prince Albert ordered the entire royal family to weigh themselves on Christmas Eve. Over the next three days of the Christmas holidays, each representative of the dynasty had to gain at least 1.5 kg of weight. This increase symbolized that the family ate well and had a great rest. For the modern representatives of the royal dynasty, this is just fun, but for Diana, a real trauma, because she has an exacerbation of bulimia. She practically does not eat anything, and every meal is accompanied by a panic attack. At the same time, Charles believes that bulimia is a far-fetched nonsense. Only the servants sympathize with Diana, who hope that the princess will survive and not go crazy. nine0003

Secondly, Spencer is constantly late for every celebration and allows himself to arrive even later than the queen. Thirdly, she wears the wrong outfits. Fourth, Diana walks where reporters can catch her. Fifthly, she demands to turn on the heating, because it is terribly cold in the courtyard, and for some reason the royal family is used to heating the building only with fireplaces. You can endlessly enumerate how the princess goes on strike against the regime, but in the end all this rebellion harms only herself. If Diana goes crazy, it will play into the hands of the royal family. This will be an excuse to get rid of her and forget about the constant drama. nine0003

By the way, Kristen Stewart, who is often criticized for being too dramatic, coped with the role of Diana perfectly, despite all the doubts of critics. She did not slip into farce and did not hit hyperbole. Stewart very naturally conveyed that Diana lived in constant suffering, fear and confusion. This is not a simulated image of a spoiled child (namely, this is how Prince Charles perceives his wife). Spencer really goes crazy, realizing that he cannot escape from this damned palace and that death is the only way to escape. nine0003

Measured, dignified and even ceremonial, like the royal family itself, the film "Spencer" clearly demonstrates what exactly drove Diana to madness and why she could not cope with her demons. Pablo Larraín and Steven Find do not pretend to be authentic and do not try to juggle historical facts. They humanly, subjectively and one-sidedly try to understand the princess and justify her madness.

Marks and spencers hampers for christmas

The best Christmas hampers of 2022, from Fortnum and Mason to Marks and Spencer

Which is the best food hamper for Christmas 2022? At a glance

Best Christmas hampers

1. The Fortnum’s Classic Christmas hamper

2. Jikoni Hug in a Box Christmas hamper

3.

4. Waitrose & Partners Christmas Treats Gift Box

5. Harrods The Grosvenor Christmas Hamper

6. Selfridges Classic Christmas Hamper

7.

8. The Daylesford Collection Hamper

9. Cartwright & Butler The Festive Favourites Wicker Hamper

10.

11. Harvey Nichols Winter Wonderland Hamper

12. Whittard The Christmas Collection Hamper

13. Lindt Christmas Collection Hamper

14. Rick Stein Christmas Essentials Hamper

15. River Café Italian Favourites Box

16. Thorntons Ultimate Christmas Wicker Hamper

17. The GAIL's Christmas Hamper

18. The Dorchester Christmas Hamper

19. The Dishoom Hamper

20.

21. Dukes Hill Jingle Bells Hamper

22. Bella Vita Classic Christmas Hamper

23.

24. Odysea Greek Wine and Meze Hamper

25. The Oldstead Ultimate Festive Feast Hamper

FAQ

How to choose the best Christmas hamper

What should be in a Christmas hamper?

Christmas shopping guides from The Telegraph

The best Marks and Spencer Christmas hampers and food gifts | Wellbeing

The best Marks and Spencer hampers for Christmas

Best value Christmas hamper

Description

Best for afternoon tea lovers

Description

Best for cheese cravers

Description

Description

Description

Best festive hamper for kids

Description

Best vegan Christmas hamper

Description

Best savoury Christmas hamper

Description

Best cosy Christmas hamper

Description

Description

Are Christmas hampers worth the money?

Hostage of the Windsors. Which Princess Diana was shown in Spencer

"Spencer": how the royal family, food and Charles' mistress drove Princess Diana crazy

Learn more