A ROYAL CHRISTMAS

From the way kings and queens dressed their houses to their favourite pastimes, we explore the festive traditions dear to royals through the ages

- FELICITY DAY

I am not palace-minded,” once confessed theQueen’s father, King George VI. The unassuming Sandringham House was much more to his taste. With its weathered red-brick facade and croquet lawn, it was less splendid royal residence, more comfy country home – which perhaps explains why, like his father and grandfather before him, it was his favourite place to celebrate Christmas.

The Norfolk estate, which lies just north of King’s Lynn, was bought for the future Edward VII in 1862, and it was he and his wife Alexandra who first began retreating there for the festive season. The house had been completely rebuilt for the couple, and though it has been unflatteringly described as ‘frenetic Jacobean’ in style, it was nevertheless said to be one of the most comfortable in England.

It was not so much the house, though, as the parkland – and in particular, the hunting and shooting – that drew the King there at Christmastime. With his son, George V, and grandson, George VI, both keen sportsmen too, by the time our Queen was born in 1926 Sandringham was firmly established as the setting for the royal Christmas.

For a time, her Majesty made Windsor Castle the centre of her own family celebrations, but for the last 32 years she too has chosen to head to Sandringham, recreating the atmosphere of ‘homely intimacy’ that prevailed in the time of her parents and grandparents, when Christmas followed the ‘routine of any country house’ – when the King and Queen arranged the presents themselves and hosted local carollers; when there were ‘enormous teas by the fire’ and country walks; and ‘crackers and much laughter’ at the Christmas dinner table.