The tradition of using fir trees around Christmas dates back to Queen Charlotte – and the royal family has carried that on.
However, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularised using these trees and traditionally three were brought to the Marble Hall in Buckingham Palace each year. It is also said the royal children all play a role in decorating one of the trees. The late Queen referred to the children helping with decorating the trees in her 2015 Christmas speech.
She said: “One of the joys of living a long life is watching one’s children, then grandchildren, great-grandchildren, help decorate the Christmas tree. And this year my family has a new member to join in the fun! The customary decorations have changed little in the years since that picture of Victoria and Albert’s tree first appeared, although, of course, electric lights have replaced the candles.”
As well as decorating their homes with their own trees, the royal family also gives Christmas trees each year to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Giles’ Cathedral and the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, the royal family website reads. Furthermore, churches and schools in the Sandringham area will also receive a tree from He
Earlier this month, Princess Charlotte and her brother Prince George took part in the festive tradition at Windsor Great Park. They picked out a tree to decorate and keep in their home at Adelaide Cottage. A royal source told HELLO! : “It’s no surprise that Prince William and his family picked their tree from Windsor Great Park. The late Queen always sourced Windsor Castle’s Christmas trees there, and King Charles did so last year, too. He is keeping with the family tradition.”
The royals also participate in another fun tradition where they open gifts in a ‘free-for-all. On Christmas Eve every year, the royals gather inside Sandringham Estate’s red drawing room at 6pm following afternoon tea. Choosing to do the Christmas ritual on December 24 rather than 25, the Windsors are keeping in line with their German ancestry.
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One of the best descriptions of the royals’ Christmas procedure came in Prince Harry’s explosive memoir, Spare. The prince said: “The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
“We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place and stood before our mound of presents. Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.”
When they get to the room, they find their presents have been laid out in front of them. But despite the “mound” of presents, they are usually all cheeky, and cheap, ones. According to reports, the cheaper and cheekier the better. There was an additional rule when Prince Philip was alive that no one should open them until he gave the go-ahead as he supervised the free-for-all. In the same memoir, Harry wrote how one year his great-aunt Princess Margaret gifted him a fish biro. In 2020, Meghan gave her royal husband an ornament of his grandma, the Queen.
