What Do The Royals Do For Christmas?
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2 hours ago
All the festive royal customs
Whether it’s playing a specific board game or a staple trip to the pub, all families have their own unique Christmas traditions – even the royals. Each year, the inner circle head to Sandringham Estate for the big day, but what does a royal Christmas Eve look like? What do the Windsors gift one another? Where do they go to church? Read on to discover answers to all your questions about what the British royals do for Christmas.
Inside The Royal Family’s Christmas Traditions
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Christmas Cards
The Royal Family has a long-standing tradition of sending out photo-based Christmas cards, which dates back many years to 1914, when Princess Mary sent a snap as part of a gift for soldiers. Apparently the late Queen Elizabeth II would sign hundreds of cards, getting ahead by starting during her summer trip to Balmoral.
For the past two years, King Charles and Queen Camilla have released cards as the reigning monarchs, using a picture taken on Coronation Day in 2023, and one taken in the garden of Buckingham Palace last year.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also usually release an official Christmas card with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Sandringham
A Trip To Sandringham Estate
It is customary for the Royal Family to spend Christmas at Sandringham – but who gets the invite? In the lead up to the big day, there are always lots of rumours about the guestlist, and this year is no different. It’s being alleged that Prince William, Princess Kate and their children will not be attending King Charles’ lunch, instead spending the day with the Middleton family. It’s thought Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be attending either, following the King’s recent decision to remove his brother’s titles amid ongoing controversies.
Last year, Queen Camilla’s family (including her son, Tom, and her daughter Laura, plus their children), joined the Windsors at the Norfolk estate, alongside Princess Anne, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and her family. Zara and Mike Tindall and their children were also in residence, as well as Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Prince Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The official guestlist for 2025 has not yet been confirmed.
Instagram @dukeandduchessofcambridge
Gifts On Christmas Eve
The present-giving ceremony at Sandringham takes place on Christmas Eve, when, according to the official Royal Family website: ‘The Royal Family lay out their presents on trestle tables and will exchange their gifts at teatime.’ The question is: what do you give to royalty? Apparently, royal presents tend to be either novelties or sentimental items – decadent gifts are ‘frowned upon’, according to Omid Scobie’s book Finding Freedom. For instance, one year Harry is believed to have given the late Queen Elizabeth a shower cap embellished with the phrase ‘Ain’t Life a B****’, and before Meghan Markle was on the scene Kate Middleton gave Harry a ‘grow your own girlfriend’ kit. The royal children, meanwhile, tend to get traditional toys.
After the gift giving, there’s usually a black-tie dinner: in his memoir, Harry says the family dines at a ‘long table covered with white cloth and white name cards.’
Christmas Day Celebrations
Like in most households, Christmas Day festivities begin with breakfast – this is generally a Full English, but some of the women opt to have something lighter brought to their rooms, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady. Next, it’s off to church for the Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene, before retreating back to the house for lunch.
The big meal is a traditional affair of ‘turkey, different stuffings – sage and onion, chestnut – and the traditional sides like roast potatoes, mash potatoes, parsnips and Brussels sprouts’, according to McGrady, with a Christmas pudding for dessert. Afterwards, some of the family go for a walk around the estate, coming back for the King’s speech (naturally) at 3pm.
Instead of spending the afternoon grazing on leftovers like the rest of us, the royal family will then enjoy afternoon tea, plus a decadent evening buffet of cheeses, crackers, meats and more. This would traditionally include a whole foie gras en croute from Harrods, but King Charles has now banned foie gras in all royal residences, so an alternative spread is now used.
