There are a couple of lesser-known activities. One of the odder scenes of 2021’s Spencer featured Princess Diana being ‘weighed in’ to Sandringham on a pair of jockeys’ scales – a genuine happening which was started by King Edward VII in the early 1900s. He wanted to gauge how much enjoyment was had by his guests by how many pounds they had put on (they’re weighed out again.) But while notes continued to be kept during the successive reigns of George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II, the suspicion is that, under King Charles, it’s become an elective choice. The Christmas Eve football match similarly doesn’t involve everyone. A ‘friendly’ between the Sandringham estate staff and villagers from Castle Rising, it’s long been an annual event for the Prince of Wales and, once upon a time, Prince Harry – who wrote about it in Spare. Last year Prince George – an avid Aston Villa fan – joined his father for the first time on the Sandringham side, while the Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis cheered from the sidelines.
Princess Margaret, Prince Philip, Prince William, Prince Harry and Diana, Princess of Wales at Sandringham for Christmas in 1990.Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
And then, at 4pm on Christmas Eve, everybody meets for tea in the saloon, a large, double-height room with panelling, an exquisite painted ceiling, and plenty of sofas. Darren McGrady, who was personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II for fifteen years, has reported on the likelihood sandwiches with fillings of of ham and mustard and coronation chicken, a ginger cake, and a pot of Earl Grey. The children add the final touches to the Christmas tree, including glass baubles that date to Queen Victoria’s time, and presents, laid out on trestle tables, are exchanged. Crucially, they’re inexpensive, and often jokey: the Prince of Wales once gave his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, a pair of slippers with her face on them – which apparently went down very well – Princess Anne gave her brother (before he was King) a white leather loo seat, and the Princess of Wales has been known to make chutney for everyone. Later there are cocktails – the King’s favourite is a said to be a gin martini -followed by a formal, black-tie dinner at a long table. Potentially this is one thing that has changed slightly since King Charles ascended to the throne: Tina Brown, in The Palace Papers, detailed the King’s interest in tablescaping (in contrast to his mother’s reliance on a poinsettia or two for seasonal decoration) and the antique table linen he’s found in the cellars of various palaces.