Cover The royal family’s walk from Sandringham Castle to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning is a beloved tradition that has only in recent years become one of their most eagerly awaited photo ops (Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
The royal family’s walk from Sandringham Castle to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning is a beloved tradition that has only in recent years become one of their most eagerly awaited photo ops (Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
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These little-known anecdotes uncover the warmth, humour and heritage behind the British royal family’s Christmas rituals
Every December, the British royal family steps into a festive script that has been rewritten, embroidered and passed down through nearly two centuries of monarchs. Christmas at Sandringham is not simply a holiday; it is a ritualised performance of heritage and domesticity, one where the monarchy’s public obligations meet its private quirks. For all the ceremony, the season is dotted with moments that feel disarmingly intimate—stories that peel back the velvet curtain and remind the world that behind the institution lies a family with its own inside jokes, sentimental habits and inherited traditions.
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These six anecdotes offer a guided tour through the royal household’s most enduring Christmas customs—each illuminating how the Windsors navigate the delicate line between spectacle and home.
How the Christmas tree became a tradition all over the world
Above An engraving showing the royal family gathered around a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, published in the ‘Illustrated London News’ in 1848 (Photo: Lombard Historical Society)
Above This glass plate negative dated from 1857 shows a decorated Christmas tree in the King's Writing Room at Windsor Castle (Photo: Royal Collection Trust)
An engraving showing the royal family gathered around a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, published in the ‘Illustrated London News’ in 1848 (Photo: Lombard Historical Society)
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Long before the United Kingdom’s royal family became a global brand, an 1848 engraving of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children transformed the British Christmas forever. The image, showing the royal family gathered around a fir tree at Windsor Castle, appeared in The Illustrated London News and instantly set a national trend. Trees, once considered a continental novelty, became a fixture in British homes—and in the royal household itself, they evolved into towering centrepieces arranged throughout palaces and estates. The practice quickly spread to the United States, and from there to the rest of the world.
What do the royals gift each other?
Above The documentary ‘A Very Royal Christmas’ revealed some of the cheeky presents the royals have given one another
If the British monarchy is often described as reserved, Christmas Eve at Sandringham proves otherwise. Following Albert’s German tradition, the family opens their presents on the 24th, but with a twist: some of the gifts are cheap, cheeky—and often completely ridiculous. In the BBC Channel 4 documentary A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets, journalist Katie Nicholl said, “If you can achieve something that is tongue in cheek, and will have [Queen Elizabeth] laughing, then you've really done well that Christmas. The more kitsch, the better.”
Over the years, tales have slipped from behind palace doors: a white leather toilet seat (from Princess Anne to King Charles), a singing toy hamster (from Meghan Markle to Queen Elizabeth), a shower cap emblazoned with the slogan “Ain’t life a b—” (from Prince Harry to Queen Elizabeth), a Grow Your Own Girlfriend Kit (from Kate Middleton to Prince Harry, who was then single). These gifts—the opposite of opulence—are a pressure valve, one evening a year when royals can laugh without worrying how it plays on camera.
When Queen Elizabeth II signed hundreds of Christmas cards by hand
Above Queen Elizabeth II was known for sending around 750 holiday cards by hand every year, a practice that she seems to have begun even before she ascended the throne. This 1942 Christmas card from then Princess Elizabeth was sent to the Grenadier Guards regiment of the British Army. (Photo: Express/Express/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II was known for sending around 750 holiday cards by hand every year, a practice that she seems to have begun even before she ascended the throne. This 1942 Christmas card from then Princess Elizabeth was sent to the Grenadier Guards regiment of the British Army. (Photo: Express/Express/Getty Images)
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For Queen Elizabeth II, Christmas meant discipline as much as celebration. Each year, she personally signed around 750 holiday cards, sending them to dignitaries, charities, military units and members of the household. It was an astonishing feat of stamina and symbolism: a small but deliberate gesture of connection from a woman who embodied continuity for seven decades.
In an era when communication has grown faster, cleverer and more disposable, her card-writing ritual stands out as a relic of a monarchy that prized personal touch as much as public address.
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The walk to church that is also one of the royal family’s busiest photo calls
Above Catherine, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, Princess Charlotte of Wales, King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince George of Wales on the walk to attend the Christmas morning service at Sandringham Church in 2024 (Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, Princess Charlotte of Wales, King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince George of Wales on the walk to attend the Christmas morning service at Sandringham Church in 2024 (Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
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The Christmas morning walk to St Mary Magdalene Church, found next to Sandringham Castle, is now one of the most iconic royal images of the year. Coats buttoned, hats immaculate, the royal family moves through the crisp Norfolk air as hundreds of onlookers gather for a glimpse of the King and his extended family.
This wasn’t always a public spectacle. Only in the late 20th century did the walk become a semi-official moment—a way for the monarchy to acknowledge the public without compromising the intimacy of Sandringham’s private holiday. Today, it is a ritual beloved by royal watchers worldwide: part ceremony, part family outing, forever captured in flashes of camera shutters.
Diana’s quiet visits to the palace kitchens
Among the many anecdotes preserved from Princess Diana’s years in the royal household, her Christmas devotion to the kitchen staff remains especially tender. Former royal chef Darren McGrady recalled how Diana would slip into the kitchens on Christmas Eve, alone and without fanfare, carrying small gifts for every chef.
Wrapped simply and often accompanied by handwritten notes, these tokens softened the hierarchy of palace life. In a season built on tradition, her gestures created a new one: kindness as a form of legacy.
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After the Christmas lunch, there’s a cosy buffet
After the formality of the royal Christmas lunch and the solemnity of the monarch’s annual broadcast, the Sandringham evening transforms into something more relaxed. Former staff describe it as a “posh carvery”: carved meats, smoked salmon, salads and desserts arranged with hotel-like precision.
If lunch is ceremonial, the buffet is domestic—the closest thing the Windsors have to a cosy family meal. Plates are filled, conversation loosens and the day ends not with pomp but with contented quiet.
Kristine Fonacier is a widely published journalist and author, covering lifestyle, business, politics and travel. She was the editor in chief at the Philippine editions of Esquire and Entrepreneur, and the founding editor of Grid magazine. At Tatler, she was previously the regional editor for T-Labs, Power & Purpose and Asia’s Most Influential.
