The royal family doesn’t have much down time during their Christmas holiday at Sandringham.
Angela Kelly, the late Queen’s dresser and aide, said Sandringham was packed with guests, including family and friends, during the seasonal celebrations.
“Sandringham, like Balmoral, is a good vacation spot, but with so much to do and so many events to attend, spending time in either home is not all that relaxing,” Kelly wrote in her 2019 book, The Other Side of the Coin.
“The house is lively and I love hearing the kids run around, laugh, and play,” she wrote of the 20,000-acre home and grounds. “We also have trees and Christmas decorations and it looks magical.”
Last year, Prince William admitted that was still the case when formulating his 2024 vacation plans.
“We’re going to Sandringham in Norfolk,” he said during a December 2024 visit to the UK with soldiers and their families, according to People magazine. “I’ll be 45 by Christmas. It’s not going to be quiet, it’s going to be noisy.”
Prince Harry, who retired from royal duties in 2020 with wife Meghan Markle and moved to Montecito, California, gave further insight into the royal tradition at Sandringham in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
“As usual on Christmas Eve, the whole family gathered to open presents, a German tradition that survived the anglicization of family surnames from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor,” he writes.
This will be followed by a black tie soirée for the royal family, followed by a Christmas service at St. Mary Magdalene Church, followed by a midday celebratory meal.
Queen Elizabeth, who died in 2022 at the age of 96, had a tradition of holidaying at her British country home, which had been owned by the royal family since 1862.
King Charles continues that tradition by arriving in the region just before Christmas, usually enjoying a few days off after the celebrations.
Her mother had a habit of staying late, leaving shortly after the anniversary of her father’s death, King George VI, on 6 February.
During the celebrations, shooting parties for the royal family are commonly held on the grounds of private country retreats.
Kelly wrote in 2019 that the weather in the region, about 160 miles north of London, “can change very quickly around Sandringham.”
“It can be beautiful one day and freezing the next,” she wrote.
As the queen’s dresser, Kelly paid close attention to the weather when creating costumes for the late monarch.
Amner Hall, home to King Charles’ eldest son Prince William and his wife Kate, is also nearby, and Prince William is said to enjoy shooting pheasants during this season.
