25 December 2023 , 09:00
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While the Royal Family heads to Balmoral every year for their summer holidays, each winter King Charles III and relatives flock to Norfolk's Sandringham Estate. The monarch hosted the Christmas festivities for the first time last year following the passing of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, with many traditions at the most private of royal residences remaining the same since Victorian times.
Acquired in 1862 by the family as a country home for Edward VII, the monarch's son George V described the 20,000 acre estate as "dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere else in the world". His son George VI, father to Queen Elizabeth, died at Sandringham on February 6, 1952. We take a look at how the current family spend their Christmas together...
The Queen Consort, King Charles III and family attend the morning service at Sandringham (PA)The build-up
Following in the tradition of his great-great-great-grandfather Prince Albert, Prince Charles will choose a 20ft Norfolk spruce tree from the grounds ahead of the big day. Last year the tree was decorated with red, gold and purple ornaments and twinkling Christmas lights. Festive decorations were wrapped around the banisters of the Grand Staircase and the home's Waterloo Chamber was turned into a winter wonderland.
King Charles is tasked with approving the menus for the guests on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with the chef traditionally carving the turkey in front of his guests. One change the King may make is to the temperature in the home - Prince Harry described Sandringham as "balmy" and the dining room in particular as "subtropical", saying he conspired with his father to open windows without success. "The corgis always betrayed us," he wrote in Spare. "The cool air would make them whimper and Granny would say: 'Is there a draft?' And then a footman would promptly shut the window."
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Christmas Eve
Guests traditionally arrive in order of seniority on Christmas Eve, junior royals first. Sandringham is the smallest and least grand of the royal residences meaning some guests may have to sleep in rooms otherwise used by staff. Last year Prince Andrew and Fergie stayed at nearby Wood Farm in the Duchess of York's first invite to Christmas Dinner for 30 years.
One quirky Sandringham tradition is guests being made to weigh themselves upon arrival. This dates back to Edward VII, who weighed his visitors again when they left to see if they had been well-fed. It is not known if the tradition of sitting on the antique scales continues to this day.
A young Prince William and Harry greeting the crowds after a December 25 service (Tim Graham/Getty Images)While guest bags are unpacked by staff, the family take afternoon tea at 4pm on Christmas Eve. Square sandwiches with the crusts cut off and fillings of ham and English mustard, Sage Derby cheese and Branston Pickle and Coronation Chicken were favourites of Queen Elizabeth as were ginger cake, honey and cream sponge and scones, washed down with a pot of Earl Grey tea.
The family like to exchange small, jokey gifts at 6pm in a nod to Prince Albert and the German tradition of "Heiligabend Bescherung". Princess Diana once gave her pal Sarah Ferguson a leopard print bath mat and Kate bought Prince Harry, then a confirmed bachelor, a "grow your own girlfriend" kit.
After the children are in bed there is a formal dinner for the grown-ups, with the men in black tie and women wearing ballgowns and jewels. Pre-dinner martinis are followed by a lavish four-course feast.
Christmas Day
December 25 begins with a buffet breakfast before the royals walk 330ft to attend the 11 am service at the estate's St Mary Magdalene Church, famously greeting the crowds as they leave.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother walking with the vicar of St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day (Getty Images)Back at the main house, the family enjoy pre-lunch drinks - Veuve Cliquot champagne being a popular choice - before sitting down for Christmas Dinner at 1pm. Last year, members of Queen Camilla's family were invited to join the fun and the increase in numbers - the Queen has two children and five grandchildren - meant dinner had to be served in the larger ballroom at the home, rather than in the dining room.
Children eat their Christmas Dinner separately according to Zara Phillips' husband Mike Tindall. "There must be about 70 of us there," he said. "There are seven tables and then the kiddies have their own little one in a different room."
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There is no starter, with guests going straight to the main meal of turkey - traditionally ordered from nearby Scoles of Dersingham - with mashed and roast potatoes, stuffing, sprouts, carrots and parsnips, with cranberry and bread sauce. A flaming Christmas pudding, doused in brandy and decorated with holly, is then served with brandy butter and brandy sauce before a cheese course with port.
The Queen making her first ever Christmas broadcast to the nation from Sandringham (Getty Images)The table is decorated with white linen, candelabras and a sprig of the Holy Thorn cut from the garden of St John The Baptist in Glastonbury in a show of loyalty to the King, in a tradition dating back before the Reformation. Crackers are pulled, thought to contain silver gifts more expensive than the tokens exchanged on Christmas Eve.
The family sit in front of the television to watch the monarch's speech before spending the rest of the afternoon at their leisure. Charades is a popular game to play after lunch, with Monopoly banned in the family according to Prince Andrew, who said the game gets "too vicious".
In the evening guests enjoy a buffet of traditional English cuisine featuring the likes of boar's head, ox tongue and seafood. A separate table offers chocolates and mints.
Boxing Day
The annual Boxing Day Hunt sees the men go shooting before the women join them for lunch which is typically hearty fare like beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes and red cabbage. Dessert is similarly traditional - apple pie and Christmas pudding slices fried in unsalted butter. Dinner that evening might be venison prepared with dauphinoise potatoes and carrots, followed by chocolate pie made of cream, meringue and cinnamon.
Troubled times
Made up of parkland, farming and forestry, the estate has seen its fair share of controversy over the years.
Meghan said her first Christmas in Norfolk was everything she had wanted (PA)Trapped in a troubled marriage with King Charles, then a Prince, Princess Diana was not a fan of spending Christmas at the Estate and royal chef Darren McGrady told how she would often chat to the staff to avoid other family members. "Once the Queen and the royals had left the dining room, Princess Diana just liked to come in for a chat, just sort of walk around the kitchen and see what was going on," he said. “Sandringham was so tight, so compact, there were so many people there, all the families. You just couldn’t get away."
The late Princess was quoted in Andrew Morton's book as having a dramatic row with her husband in Christmas 1982, when pregnant with Prince William. "I threw myself down the stairs," she reportedly said in a tape recorded by an intermediary. "Charles said I was crying wolf and I said I felt so desperate and I was crying my eyes out and he said: 'I'm not going to listen. You're always doing this to me. I'm going riding now.'" According to the author, the Queen Mother was among the first to come find Diana and was "physically shaking with the shock of what she had witnessed".
Sandringham was also the scene of a tense summit in January 2020 between King Charles and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, after the younger brother's announcement that he was stepping back from being a working royal. The trio thrashed out the details and the Queen went on to release a statement wishing Harry and his wife Meghan a "peaceful and happy new life" together away from the clan.
Meghan had previously enjoyed her first Christmas at Sandringham in 2017. "It’s just like a big family like I always wanted," she told her mother on a phone call afterwards. “There was just this constant movement and energy and fun.” "We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running around with the kids," added Prince Harry, speaking of happier times spent with his sibling. "Christmas was fantastic."