They’ve belonged to the House of Windsor since 1917 and they’re unquestionably one of the most famous families in the world (aside from the Kardashians of course!), but how much do people really know about the British royal family? See, that’s the difference between the royals and the Kardashians. Whereas the Kardashians are as candid as one could get, the royal family are more of a closed book. Can anyone really imagine seeing Her Majesty the Queen or the Duchess of Cambridge posting ‘’belfies’’ on Twitter? Our point made! Of course, we see them on the television all the time, but what actually goes on behind closed doors in Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle? Just like how Harry tapped the blank piece of parchment to reveal the contents of the Marauder’s Map, readers just need to press the downwards arrow for all secrets of the royal family to be revealed.

15 Family traditions

Every family has its traditions. The royal family is no exception. But it’s no ordinary family tradition, in case you were thinking we meant something along the lines of lying in at the weekend or watching re-runs of Friends every Friday night. Their tradition is more of a protocol based around security fears. Family members of the same line are not allowed to travel in the same plane together so that, just in the case of an accident, wiping the royal lineage is prevented. That tradition has only once been broken by Prince William when he flew to Canada in the same plane as Prince George, who will succeed him one day in the future. He did, however, ask for the Queen’s permission beforehand. But it was a risky move.

14 But that’s not the only flying ritual they have

Just as you would expect from the royal family, they are obliged to follow a number of rigid rules. One of them is packing a black outfit in their bag whenever they travel overseas. The reason for this is actually quite morbid. They do it in case a royal death occurs while they’re away, so that they can arrive back in an appropriate ensemble to match the mood. It may be morbid, but when you think about it, it’s also practical. It wouldn’t look very good if they arrived back wearing neon pink, would it? The royals, you see, have to be prepared for every little thing. They have to be ready for any situation at any given time. It’s a good job they’re not bombarded with luggage restrictions like the rest of us when we fly.

13 They take a hostage for the Queen

Did you know that every time the Queen visits the State Opening of Parliament, the royal household is obliged to take a hostage? We told you they did some wacky things! The rule dates back to the time when Parliament and the royals didn’t get on well.

To assure a safe return of the Queen, the royal household thought it was best to take a member of parliament with them to the ceremony in the case of anything bad happening to Her Majesty.

And this still happens to this day, despite the fact that the relationship between the royals and parliament isn't murderously bad anymore. But it’s just a precaution. The chosen MP is kept perfectly safe and taken care of throughout the ceremony.

12 The tackiest Christmas present competition

What do you buy someone who has everything? Maybe they don’t have everything, but they can pretty much have anything they want. Maybe that’s why they make Christmas more fun by exchanging funny presents instead. It wouldn’t be much fun if they only bought each other ridiculously fancy presents, would it? In fact, it’s kind of a competition in the household for who can give the tackiest present. Prince Harry must have won that time he gave his grandmother a bath hat with the phrase "Ain’t life a bitch?" written on it. We’d love to have seen her reaction! Another hilarious gift was Princess Anne’s to Prince Charles: a white leather toilet seat. What would anyone want a white leather toilet seat for? Good gift choice!

11 They’re pretty frugal

Most of us throw away wrapping paper that we’ve used. Not the royals! Or at least, not Queen Elizabeth anyway. According to her biographer, Kate Williams, Her Majesty never lets wrapping paper go to waste—she always reuses it. Apparently, she’s been doing it since she was young. She’ll save the gift wrap and then smooth it out so that it can be reused. It’s actually a smart idea, especially if the gift wrap is in good condition after it’s been used. It seems a shame just to throw it away. We’re all about recycling and upcycling now, yet some of the basis most obvious things like this, we don’t do. Who knew the Queen could be so thrifty! She’s an environmental darling and we hope the rest of the UK takes note.

10 No live-in-chef for the royals

Excluding the Queen, who is known for having a live-in-chef who cooks all her meals, the royal family (or at least most members of the family) do cook for themselves. Kate Middleton cooks for her family and Prince Harry has also been seen shopping for groceries. Gone are the days when the royal household made live-in-chefs the norm.

We know they are busy people, what with all that traveling and all, but surely they can find time to cook for themselves.

Kate Middleton reportedly likes to cook Prince William’s favourite meal, which is roast chicken (classic British food). Can the Duchess and her little family get any cuter? We know you shouldn’t believe everything you see on the TV, but we can’t imagine their family being anything less than perfect.

9 The family fly economy

Somehow, we can’t quite imagine William and Kate battling for seats on a Ryanair flight or waiting in airport lines for two hours straight. We’ll never see that happening, but that doesn’t mean the royals are totally uptight when it comes to air travel. The Queen may travel privately, but her grandchildren have been spotted on commercial flights several times.

Back in 2014, Prince William took a flight from Memphis to Dallas on an American Airlines plane.

Most recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were spotted travelling on British Airways to spend their New Year in Nice. One member of the royal family you will never see travelling economy is Her Majesty the Queen. The papers would pay a fortune for pictures, but it's never going to happen.

8 Even the royal children wear hand-me-downs

Younger siblings will remember the frustration. When they hoped for new clothing but were forced instead to wear their older sibling’s outgrown clothes. Well, it seems it’s no different for Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Only, they both get the raw end of the deal, because they are both made to wear the hand-me-downs of their older family members.

Princess Charlotte, for instance, was pictured wearing shoes that her uncle, Prince Harry, wore when he was 2 years old (over three decades ago).

Prince George isn’t off the hook. He has been spotted wearing an outfit that his dad wore to his brother’s christening in 1984. And you thought your hand-me-downs were bad! Some of the clothing these two kids are made to wear are almost historic!

7 Monopoly is forbidden

Believe it or not, the royal family are actually not allowed to play this famous board game. We discovered this bizarre fact back in 2008, when someone gave Prince Andrew the board game Monopoly as a gift. We bet they didn’t expect his strange response when they presented him with this gift.

He told the gift giver, ''We’re not allowed to play Monopoly at home.''

Why? When the person asked why, Prince Andrew disclosed, ''it gets too vicious.'' That was not the answer we were expecting. It’s hard to envision a heated game of Monopoly going on in the royal household, isn’t it? Do you think maybe the Queen is a sore loser, who has a tendency to throw up the board when things aren’t going her way? It’s just a thought.

6 No autographs allowed

Have you ever seen a member of the royal family signing autographs? You won’t because, technically, they are not allowed. So if you happen to ask the Duchess for her signature, she will have to kindly decline because she isn’t allowed to give it because of fears of their signatures being forged. Kate is also not allowed to take selfies. But that’s not restricted to Kate alone. None of the royal family members are allowed to do selfies. Does that mean "belfies" are off limits too? There are so many rigid rules for the royal household. They also can’t touch people beyond a handshake. And that works the other way around: you are not allowed to touch them either. Only formal handshakes are allowed in the form of physical touching.

5 The Royal Train cannot travel over bumpy tracks first thing in the morning

The Queen is the Queen and what she says goes. So when she tells the train driver that the royal train must not travel over bumpy tracks when she’s in the bath, that is what they do. The Queen is no ordinary train commuter. She has special wishes and desires.

The most specific is her bath regime.

When she has a bath, she does not want to be disrupted by bumps, which is why there’s a rule that the train cannot ride over bumpy tracks at 7:30 a.m., AKA her bath time. It sounds like a crazy request. After all, how easy is it to not travel over bumpy tracks? We’re not sure. But when you are serving the Queen, what she says goes. You wouldn’t want her to have a bumpy bath.

4 This is how they do dinners

Dinners are as formal as you would imagine at the royal household; even more so when there is a guest of honour. It is a tradition that the guest of honour sits on the Queen’s right side. This way, she can turn to speak to them first. Following the first course, the Queen will switch sides and begin speaking to the person on her left.

Lewis Hamilton found this out when he was a guest on the left and began conversation with the Queen during lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Her Majesty had to inform him that she’d speak to him after she’d spoken to the person on her right side. That must have been embarrassing! That is why it’s always a good idea to do your research before you go for lunch with the Queen. If that ever happens, of course.

3 The Queen's stamp is the most reproduced art in history

We bet you never thought too much about UK stamps—or any stamps for that matter. It’s not like they’re an exciting topic or anything. But there is one interesting fact about stamps that might whet your general stamp interest and it’s concerning the Queen. Did you know that Her Majesty’s image on UK stamps has been reprinted over 200 billion times? It was designed back in 1967 and since then, it has been stuck on billions of letters, sent to billions of people in the UK and all over the world. In fact, it is known to be the most reproduced work of art in history. Now that is what you call an achievement! No wonder everybody in the world knows her face; they've apparently seen it on countless stamps.

2 They don’t vote

The British royal family is obliged to follow countless rules, but voting is something they can do. However, they choose not to vote because they consider it unconstitutional. Essentially, the royal family are seen as people who represent the UK and to society as a whole. They believe voting would take that away from them by removing their ability to identify with society. They also refrain from running for office, too. Seeing as their prime role is to relate to all sections of society, we guess they have a point in choosing to stay politically neutral. Now that Meghan Markle is marrying a royal, that means she won’t be allowed to be active in politics either. That means if Donald Trump comes and wants to meet with her at an official event, she'll be obliged to comply.

1 Six ravens live at the Tower of London

The tale that six ravens live in the Tower of London is not a myth. They actually do live there at all times. It sounds pretty strange, doesn’t it? But there’s actually some basis for it. It dates back to the era of Charles II, when he required that seven ravens live in the tower.

By seven, he actually meant six ravens and a spare.

The request was actually spurred from a legend that once said, ''If the ravens leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall.'' And so those words inspired Charles II to ensure there were always seven ravens living at the Tower of London. The tradition has been upheld. You will still find seven (or maybe six) ravens living at the Tower of London today.