A special Christmas Eve
A royal Christmas: This is how the royal family celebrates!
When the British royals celebrate Christmas, it's anything but stiff - especially on Christmas Eve. December 24 is all about fun and conviviality, and it's not just the children who get their money's worth. It's going to be loud and funny. Princess Kate and King Charles are likely to be particularly insistent on this this year, after all the drama.
Around 45 family members, including Queen Camilla's children and grandchildren, are gathering at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk this year to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with King Charles.
Tradition is very important here - paired with a pinch of humor. There is an unusual ritual as soon as they arrive: All guests step onto antique scales to measure their "starting weight". At the end of the festivities, they are weighed again to check whether everyone has eaten enough. This tradition, which dates back to the Queen's predecessors, regularly causes great laughter.
Match in the mud
The male members of the royal family - presumably with the exception of King Charles - sweat in the December mud before the afternoon snack at the traditional soccer match with the estate staff. Some of the previously measured grams are sure to tumble.
After a long bath, the family meets up for afternoon tea. While scones and tea are enjoyed, the children join the adults in decorating the Norfolk spruce, which is up to six meters high. As a highlight, King Charles attaches the golden star to the top of the tree, just as Prince Philip used to do. The glass angels from Queen Victoria's time give the tree a nostalgic charm.
Joke presents under the Christmas tree
Gifts are given at around 6 p.m. - a departure from British tradition, according to which presents are actually given in the morning. But for the royals, the early opening of presents makes children laugh out loud, as joke presents are customary. Zara Tindall, Princess Anne's daughter, also revealed that every guest finds a filled Christmas stocking at their bedside - just as is traditional in England.
Formal Christmas dinner
The subsequent Christmas dinner looks formal at first glance, with evening dresses and tiaras as the dress code. But the royals like to keep things light-hearted: the late Queen always had great fun reading out the jokes from Christmas crackers. This humorous tradition is one of the family's favorite customs and continues even after her death.
Goose and beef are served for dinner, accompanied by cocktails. After the meal, the evening ends in a cozy atmosphere with conversation and charades.
A relief after a year of bad news. Princess Kate underwent abdominal surgery in January and was subsequently diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo months of chemotherapy. King Charles was also diagnosed with cancer in February. His treatment will continue into next year, but has a good prognosis and will not prevent the monarch from fulfilling his duties.
Churchgoing and turkey on the first holiday
On December 25, the traditional church service is on the agenda, with the royal family appearing together and receiving Christmas wishes from onlookers. Prince William and Princess Kate bring their children with them, who regularly delight the crowds.
Christmas lunch in the afternoon is also classic: turkey is on the menu, followed by the traditional "Yuletide Log", a decorative Christmas cake that sweetens the afternoon tea.
What Charles does differently to his mother, however, is that he doesn't spend the Christmas vacations in Sandringham until February, but travels to Birkhall in Scotland straight after the Boxing Day hunt, i.e. on Boxing Day. The country estate is very close to his heart. He also retired there with his wife Camilla during the coronavirus pandemic.
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