What you need to know
King Charles has continued his mother Queen Elizabeth’s tradition of spending holidays at his family home in the English countryside.
After arriving at Sandringham House just before Christmas, the king and many of his relatives, like the late queen, are spending an extended holiday in the area, about 160 miles north of London.
There, after Christmas presents and lunch at the mansion, a shooting party for the royal family and their friends is a big treat.
The Royal Family has owned the house and grounds, which have grown to around 20,000 acres, since 1862, and the tradition is almost as old. Their daily lives were shared by Angela Kelly, Queen Elizabeth’s longtime aide and dresser, in her 2019 book, The Other Side of the Coin.
The holiday brings together guests, royals, and other close friends and relatives, as shooting parties remain the mainstay of entertainment.
“The house is buzzing and I love hearing the kids running around, laughing and playing. We also have a tree and Christmas decorations that look magical,” Kelly wrote.
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The late queen was scheduled to stay there until February 6, the anniversary of her father George VI’s death, and shortly thereafter. King Charles tends to base his family there for a few days after Christmas, but that doesn’t last very long.
However, like his mother, King Charles continues to work there. Charles announced the good news on December 12 that cancer treatments would be cut in the new year, but for example, in March 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited. The only day that the red box from the British government for ministers has not arrived and requires the King’s attention is Christmas Day.
During the holidays, there is a different kind of busyness – a recreational busyness.
“Sandringham, like Balmoral (in Scotland), is a great vacation spot, but with so much to do and so many events to attend, spending time at either home isn’t all that relaxing,” Kelly wrote in 2019.
“Weather can change quickly around Sandringham in the east of England,” wrote Kelly, who was mindful of the various outfits she had to prepare for her boss. “It can be beautiful one day and freezing the next.”
In King Charles’ case, the dresser was replaced by a squire and one of his squires.
The king has continued to uphold many of his late mother’s traditions. Prince William and Duchess Kate have a country home, Anmer Hall, about a mile away from their main residence, where they have continued to add to and create their own traditions.
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Like his closest friend, Prince William is passionate about shooting, and during this time he has been enjoying the sport on the grounds, with many of his social interactions centered around pheasant shooting. That means changing from the daywear that King Charles wears to meetings with his private secretaries, such as tweeds and sport coats (there is always one senior aide on duty when the king is at home). Regardless of gender, photo shoot outfits are “all about warmth, comfort, and layering,” Kelly writes.
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Sandringham gained notoriety in the winter of 2020 when a summit of the most senior members of the family was held there to decide the fate of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who wanted to step back from working royal life and pursue a new direction elsewhere. The couple moved to Meghan’s hometown of California later that year.
