Every year, the Royal Family travels to Sandringham to celebrate Christmas in a cherished tradition that dates back to 1870.
While the festivities at the King’s Norfolk estate are typically closely guarded, members of the Firm and their aides have revealed how the holiday unfolds – from a sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner to the Windsors’ light-hearted gifting tradition.
Shortly after arriving at Sandringham on December 24, the monarch’s guests meet in the opulent, wood-panelled drawing room and enjoy afternoon tea that includes delicate sandwiches, scones, and muffins.
Then they gather around a specially assembled trestle table for the gift exchange in a ceremony that is a nod to the family’s German heritage.
The game sees King Charles hand out ‘joke’ £5 presents in strict order of seniority, and has been a Christmas mainstay within the royal household since the 19th century – although that might change in the future.
Some of the weirdest gifts exchanged include Princess Anne‘s leather toilet seat for then-Prince Charles, a pair of ‘false bosoms’ for the late Princess Diana, and the singing hamster Meghan selected for the late Queen.
Christmas Eve culminates with a glittering black-tie dinner as the royals, dressed in sweeping gowns and dinner jackets, sit down for a feast of local delicacies.
Zara Tindall, who will join her mother Princess Anne and other royals in Sandringham this year, recently gushed about the family holiday as she told the Daily Mail: ‘We are so lucky, Christmas is always amazing.’
Every year, the Royal Family travels to Sandringham to celebrate Christmas in a cherished tradition that dates back to 1870
King Charles’ former butler Grant Harrold previously described the many quirks of a royal Christmas in his bestselling 2025 book.
Writing in The Royal Butler, Mr Harrold recalled how he once became ‘caught in the crossfire of a water fight involving Prince William‘ at a staff Christmas party in 2004.
The etiquette expert set the scene at St James’s Palace and admitted he was star-struck when he took his seat alongside William, then 22.
It wasn’t until William and another staff member began filling up water balloons and ‘firing’ them at the guests that Mr Harrold relaxed.
‘It was hilarious. Everyone was in fits of laughter. It was like hanging out with any young man, except this one was a future King,’ he said.
The royals first started celebrating Christmas at Sandringham when Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, took ownership of the house.
Queen Victoria, however, preferred spending the holiday season at Windsor Castle where she hosted Christmas during her reign.
The royals returned to Sandringham House for Christmas in 1988 because Windsor Castle was being rewired at the time, and the Norfolk residence has remained their official meeting point ever since.
While the festivities at the King’s Norfolk estate (pictured) are typically closely guarded, members of the Firm and their aides have revealed how the holiday unfolds – from a sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner to the Windsors’ light-hearted gifting tradition
One of the best-known, if controversial, royal Christmas tradition is their gift-exchanging ceremony.
The ‘antiquated’ game involves inexpensive presents being handed out to members of the family by King Charles – and previously, by his mother the late Queen – from a specially constructed trestle table.
‘There’s always the idea to give something useful or fun. They certainly would never have extravagant gifts,’ former royal employee Alexandra Messervy previously revealed.
Before Princess Diana adjusted to the tradition after her wedding to then-Prince Charles, she is said to have gifted her sister-in-law Anne a luxurious cashmere sweater – only to receive a loo roll instead!
She quickly learnt her lesson and bought Sarah Ferguson – who, along with her disgraced ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, will not be at Sandringham this year – a leopard-print bath mat the following year.
Princess Anne, who has a reputation for being the funniest royal, left her family giggling with her tongue-in-cheek gift for Charles.
One Christmas, the Princess Royal, now 75, gave the then-Prince of Wales a white leather toilet seat ‘so that he had his own personal throne to sit on while he waited to become King,’ Mr Harrold wrote in The Royal Butler.
The seat may also have been Anne’s not-so-subtle way of poking fun at a rumour that Charles carries his own toilet seat when he travels overseas.
Charles, however, rubbished the claim in a 2018 interview on Australian radio as he quipped, ‘Oh don’t believe all that c**p’.
According to his former butler Grant Harrold, Charles once received a ‘leather toilet seat’ from his sister Princess Anne ‘so that he had his own personal throne to sit on while he waited to become King’
‘In her day, Diana was once given a pair of false bosoms, while Princess Anne received a monogrammed door mat,’ according to Andrew Morton.
Writing in his book, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, the royal author described the humorous gift exchange as a rather spirited affair.
Prince Harry, in particular, had a reputation for picking out outrageous gifts.
The Duke of Sussex, now 41, once surprised his grandmother, the late Queen, with a shower cap that read ‘Ain’t life a b****’.
‘Another year, he gave her a singing Big Mouth Billy Bass (a novelty singing fish), which has pride of place on the piano in her Balmoral study,’ Mr Morton wrote.
Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle, who was first invited to Sandringham in 2017 before their wedding, ‘got into the zany spirit’ and presented the Queen with a ‘singing hamster which apparently the corgis eyed dolefully’, he added.
This tradition, although a long-standing royal Christmas custom, may be scrapped by William when he becomes King, the Mail on Sunday recently reported.
His issue is not with the gag gifts but, rather, the hierarchical order of gift-giving.
A source told this paper: ‘While William’s mind is on much bigger changes than just the trestle table, it’s well known to be one of those antiquated traditions that he’s never really taken to.
‘You can expect that to be one of the first things to go when he eventually hosts his first Sandringham Christmas.’
Until then, the gift ceremony continues as usual, after which the family dresses up for their stately Christmas Eve dinner.
And while it’s true that many observe a similar custom at home, dressing in all our finery to sit down at the table, the royals take their festive dress code one step further (meaning no slippers allowed underneath your jazzy frock).
According to fashion designer Jacques Azagury, the royals are expected to ‘pull out all the stops’ as he noted: ‘Christmas Eve is when everything comes out, the tiaras, the long dresses, it’s a full-on black tie evening.’
After pre-dinner drinks, the family sits down for an elaborate meal of Norfolk shrimps, Sandringham estate lamb and Tarte Tatin.
The final act of the night sees the royals pulling Christmas crackers filled with silver or gold crowns before heading to their respective rooms.
Mr Harrold (pictured) revealed he once became ‘caught in the crossfire of a water fight involving Prince William’ while at a Christmas dinner
The Prince and Princess of Wales with their three children, Princess Charlotte (in green), Prince George, and Prince Louis as they arrived for the Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene church in 2023. Prince Louis, who is holding his father’s hand, can be seen walking alongside Zara and Mike Tindall’s daughter, Mia
On Christmas morning, guests are given the choice of being served a small breakfast, with coffee or tea, in their bedrooms, or a ‘heartier’ meal in the dining room.
The family then makes the short walk over to St Mary Magdalene Church for the 11am service before their walkabout, where they greet well-wishers and fans.
Back at Sandringham for lunch, they will feast on a traditional Christmas dinner, with roast goose or turkey and ‘all of the trimmings’.
Sometimes, royal chefs will add ‘all sorts of weird and wonderful things’ to the menu – including a roasted pig’s head on one occasion, Mr Harrold recalled.
Darren McGrady, who served as the late Queen’s personal chef for 11 years, previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Christmas dinner is the only time the bird goes into the dining room whole and is carved in front of the family.’
And for dessert? Christmas pudding is the main option, of course.
‘You light the brandy just as you walk into the dining room and everyone cheers,’ Mr McGrady exclaimed.
After their royal walkabout, the royal family (pictured) will feast on a traditional Christmas dinner, with roast goose or turkey and ‘all of the trimmings’
This year, former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, are no longer welcome at Sandringham following the latest Jeffrey Epstein revelations. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured in 2018) will remain in Montecito, California
The end of the meal doesn’t mean the food stops, as Mr Harrold revealed chefs will usually provide ‘an afternoon tea of a chocolate yule log, a homemade Christmas cake and a selection of chocolatey pastries’.
‘In keeping with the usual routine of regular meals in the royal household, for those who were still feeling peckish there would be a buffet of roasted meats, seafood, cooked vegetables and gingerbread cookies,’ he added.
Afterwards, the family joins the rest of Britain in watching the monarch’s Christmas speech as they sit before the telly in Sandringham saloon.
This is no regular TV room as it spans two floors and is furnished with a wooden dining table, detailed tapestries, cream sofas, and a piano.
On Christmas night, they are said to play parlour games including charades and bingo.
The Firm first acquired the Sandringham estate in 1862 and is owned by the family, not the crown.
It was then passed down for generations and belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth up until her death in September 2022, when it was then given to Charles.
Last year, the King invited 45 guests to the estate for Christmas – with Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles making the trip to Norfolk at her request.
The food critic, 50, told the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden that neither he nor his sister Laura Lopes will not be joining the Royal Family’s celebrations this year.
Instead, he will be sleeping in the living room in the west London home of his ex-wife, Sara Buys.
After stripping Andrew of his royal titles and honours, Charles has also decided against inviting his younger brother to Sandringham this year as the fallout from his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein continues.
Instead, they will likely spend their final Christmas at Royal Lodge ‘doing all sorts of entertaining’ after Charles ordered Andrew to vacate the home.
“I [think] they would take advantage of this last Christmas to do all sorts of entertaining there,” royal biographer Andrew Lownie told Cosmopolitan UK.
While their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are still invited to Sandringham, it remains unclear whether they will join the royals for Christmas after the difficult year they’ve had.
Estranged royals, Prince Harry and Meghan, will celebrate Christmas at home in Montecito, California, with their two children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.