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    PEOPLE Christmas with the Queen
    PEOPLE Christmas with the Queen
    PEOPLE Christmas with the Queen
    Ebook141 pages33 minutes

    PEOPLE Christmas with the Queen

    By Meredith Corporation

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    About this ebook

    In this lavishly illustrated special edition, People takes you inside the British royal family's holiday traditions and customs, many carried from the Victorian era to today. From the Christmas plays that Queen Elizabeth appeared in as a child with her sister Margaret, to Prince Harry's Christmas in Afghanistan, and Prince William and Princess Kate's next generation traditions with their kids. Visit the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, that has played host to many a family celebration, go behind the scenes of the Queen's annual Christmas Day address, and discover what it takes to deck the halls of a castle. Plus: the Windsors' holiday cards, their tradition of giving gag gifts, and a former palace chef's recipe for plum pudding.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMeredith Corporation
    Release dateNov 13, 2020
    ISBN9781547855070
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      Book preview

      PEOPLE Christmas with the Queen - Meredith Corporation

      yours

      How They Holiday

      Old traditions and new joys mark christmastime for the Windsors

      BY RICHARD JEROME

      At Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth met with members of the choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, who appeared in her 2005 Christmas address.

      FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND THE ROYAL FAMILY, Christmas is a time of public and private rituals suffused with a cozy familiarity. The Windsors routinely mark the yuletide at Sandringham, their 20,000-acre rural estate in Norfolk, about 100 miles northeast of London. There Queen Elizabeth II broadcasts her Christmas message to the world, in which she conveys sympathy for the less fortunate, encourages charity, discusses events from the past year and, on a lighter note, often gives updates on family milestones—she and Prince Philip have welcomed eight great-grandchildren in the past 10 years. Often she’ll include a reference to the message of the Christmas story; as the head of the Church of England, Elizabeth takes her faith seriously. She steers away from politics, but last year, with her country divided over the Brexit split from the European Union, she said in her address, Through his teaching and by his example, Jesus Christ would show the world how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding.

      Then there are the family celebrations. There’s gift-giving at tea on Christmas Eve—an old German practice that Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, introduced in the mid-19th century. The difference is that Albert showered Victoria with dazzling jewelry, while today the royals favor inexpensive party gifts—like the leather toilet seat Princess Anne bestowed on her brother Prince Charles one year. (See for more.) They do go all-out in dressing, however. Christmas Eve dinner is black-tie, with the women in gowns. Former rugby player Mike Tindall, who is married to Princess Anne’s daughter Zara, once joked, I’ve never had to take as many outfits anywhere.

      On the morning of Dec. 25 the family take the annual walk from Sandringham House to 11 a.m. services at St. Mary Magdalene Church, greeting the throngs of well-wishers lining their path. Later they’ll typically feast on roast beef or roast turkey from the Sandringham farm—a staple since the reign of Edward VII in the early 20th century—and seasonal vegetables, like parsnips or brussels sprouts. They also drink—the Queen favors a cocktail called the Zaza, made from Dubonnet and gin. For evening entertainment they play parlor and board games, often charades, though the Queen is said to prefer Scrabble.

      As grand as the current royal family’s festivities appear, they are positively low-key compared with celebrations in medieval days, when, after solemn prayer, fasting and the giving of alms, the party lasted a full 12 nights until Jan. 6, when presents were exchanged. By the 13th century, Christmas traditions of the Continent had found their way to the island nation—including extravagant feasts. One Christmas, for instance, guests of King Henry III (1207-1272), dined on 30 oxen, 100 sheep and 81 fowl, among other delights. A boar’s head took center stage on the royal table, stuffed with things like pork, ox tongue, apples and herbs, then garnished with holly. The 16th century introduced plum porridge, which included beef, spiced dried fruit, bread crumbs and sugar and was spiked with wine; by Queen Victoria’s time that treat had morphed into today’s standby plum pudding. (For more on plum pudding and a

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