Christmas is a family holiday – and the Royal Family is no exception.
The Windsors adhere to some specific and quirky family traditions – like the rest of us – around the holidays.
Many of them go back decades if not centuries and are sometimes grounded in the Royal Family’s links to various European noble houses.
Here’s a rundown of the Windsors’ most essential Christmas habits…
The Christmas luncheon
King Charles has continued his late mother’s tradition of hosting a luncheon in the run-up to Christmas day.
This year, on 16 December, the entire Wales family and the York sisters Eugenie and Beatrice were among the attendants. But their father, the King’s disgraced brother Andrew, didn’t join.
Charles also once more hosted the event at Buckingham Palace like his mother. He had staged his first two luncheons at Windsor Castle.
Christmas at Sandringham
The Windsor family typically spend Christmas at their beloved country estate of Sandringham, Norfolk, some 100 miles north of London. On Christmas morning, they join a church service at St Mary Magdalene on the estate, an opportunity for the public to catch a glimpse of the royals.
Presents on Christmas Eve
The Windsors have German roots, including not only via the late Duke of Edinburgh but also via Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, the progenitor of the Windsors’ ancestry line, which was originally called the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Albert also brought cherished German Christmas traditions with him, including notably that the Royal Family exchanges presents on Christmas Eve after afternoon tea instead of Christmas Day.
Three Christmas trees…
Another German-inspired tradition, which the former House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha popularised in the UK..
German-born Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III, is credited with introducing Christmas trees to Britain in the 18th century.
But it was illustrations of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria decorating trees with their families that are believed to have spread the custom. The family also deployed fir trees rather than Charlotte’s yew trees.
Today, the Royal Family famously erects three trees in Buckingham Palace’s Marble Hall.
…and 750 Christmas cards
According to the Royal Trust Collection, the first official royal Christmas cards were sent in 1843, once more under the reign of Victoria and Albert.
Today, they’re an important part of the royal Christmas routine: MEZIESBLOG understands that the King and Queen usually send some 750 cards to family, friends, staff and some British and Commonwealth prime ministers, governors-general and high commissions.
Pudding for staff
Members of the Royal Household usually receive Christmas presents from the King, some of which are handed out in person.
Staff also receive Christmas puddings – about 1,500 in total – accompanied by greeting cards, a tradition carried over from the reign of King George V and George VI.
Donations to charities in Windsor
It’s another established habit that the Windsors donate money to charities in the eponymous town.
Moreover, Christmas trees have long been donated to Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, St Giles’ Cathedral, the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh as well as churches and schools in the Sandringham area.
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