The British royal family will spend Christmas at Sandringham Castle in Norfolk as usual. But things aren’t nearly as rigid as you might think.
There are a few new things coming this year. It is the first Christmas after the coronation of King Charles III. (75). Like his mother, the monarch is sticking to a family celebration in Sandringham and this time he has even invited the children and grandchildren of his wife Camilla (76). Therefore, the family will probably have to move their banquet from the dining room to the larger ballroom. The royals will probably stick to their beloved traditions in larger groups – and really enjoy them again after the mourning period last year.
Royal expert Jennie Bond revealed in the British “OK!” magazine that the royals rely on exercise for the celebration of love: “Sometimes there is a football game with some employees on Christmas Eve.” There is definitely enough space available on the 20,000 hectare property. Heir to the throne William (42) is particularly crazy about football and will definitely kick a ball or two with his three children.
Fun games are also on the program. Jennie Bond explained: “The family loves games of all kinds, cards and charades are popular.” Mike Tindall (45) revealed in a podcast in the fall that William’s wife Kate (42) loves the drinking game “Beer Pong,” in which table tennis balls are thrown into drinking cups. The opponent must drink every cup hit.
Royal expert Phil Dampier told The Sun that Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) loved to play with her family. She especially liked charades. “The late queen was brilliant at impersonating world leaders such as Boris Yeltsin and US presidents.” One can assume that her son, who has already demonstrated his acting talent on the university stage, will certainly do something similar.
Meanwhile, Camilla seems to be responsible for planning the entire party. The historian Kate Williams emphasized in the documentary “Sandringham: The King At Christmas” that the Queen used to oversee the planning as monarch and wife in one. Now the tasks would probably be divided: “Now Charles is the king and Camilla is the hostess, so I suspect Camilla will be the Christmas planner.”
However, one issue has long been clarified: Contrary to what you might expect from the royals, they don’t focus on noble gifts, but on the funniest ones possible. Professor Williams explained: “They don’t give big gifts – in fact the rule is: the funnier the better.” She revealed: “In one year, William and Kate bought Harry a waxing kit for his own girlfriend, the Duke of Edinburgh got a light-up pepper mill and the Queen an apron. Princess Diana was famously surprised by this when she first joined the family – No one had told her not to spend a lot of money, and she bought Princess Anne a beautiful cashmere sweater.” We can only hope that Camilla’s relatives will be informed about this beforehand. In contrast to the joke gifts for adults, the children can look forward to real presents.
The royal family is more serious when it comes to wardrobe. According to designer Jacques Azagury, who once designed clothes for Princess Diana (1961-1997), the family made at least five formal outfit changes over the course of the holidays. “Everything comes out on Christmas Eve, the tiaras, the long dresses, they pull out all the stops.”
Like millions of households in Britain, the royals will be watching King Charles’ speech on Christmas Day. The traditional visit to the Christmas service in the Church of St. Mary Magadelene also remains an integral part.
While last Christmas was dominated by mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, royal experts expect that the family will return to the humorous Christmas season this year. “I think with Charles and Camilla as hosts everything will be a little more relaxed and informal than in the late Queen’s time,” says Jennie Bond. “When you have a lot of kids under 10 running around, it must be like crazy chaos.”
