For many, Christmas is a time to gather with family, enjoy feasts and gifts, and some, to be honest, take this season quite seriously, just like the Royal Family.
Queen Elizabeth, along with her family members, enjoy this season with fancy luncheons, prank gifts, and a traditional mass. And even this year, due to the pandemic, those activities will be canceled, here are some traditions the Queen and the Royal Family have every Christmas.
They have more than one Christmas tree
Christmas trees have always been a royal tradition, especially after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert turned this into a worldwide event; the reason why only one Christmas tree isn’t enough.
The Queen has three fir trees in the Marble Hall of Buckingham Palace during the holiday season, plus the one set at Sandringham House where they traditionally spend Christmas and finally the one displayed on Windsor Castle, where the Queen has spent the last two holidays due to the pandemic.
They also have a tradition in which kids help to decorate a small Christmas tree before dinner, and as the Queen said, George and his siblings largely enjoy this activity.
All trees are up until February 6, in honor of the Queen’s father King George IV, who died at Sandringham on that date in 1962.
They have a tight schedule of arrival
Family members who are invited to Sandringham for Christmas must follow a tight schedule of arrival and the time they arrive shows the status they have within the family.
That’s why the junior members arrive first and the most senior ones, like Prince Charles and Camilla or William and Kate, arrive last.
However, everyone must be ready for 7:30, when the reception starts and, traditionally, Prince Phillip hosted.
Etiquette dress code for the dinner
Christmas is a serious and very formal event for the Royal family, therefore everyone should attend the etiquette dress code.
Men are expected to wear black-tie and women evening gowns.
Moreover, dinner is a six-course menu mainly with traditional dishes such as turkey and mashed potatoes and, the whole menu is written in French.
No one is allowed to dress similar to the Queen
According to Angela Kelly, the Queen’s official dresser, she plans different outfits and color schemes for Elizabeth to choose from. Once the decision is settled, she handles a brief to other royal dressers to ensure that all the attending guests will not clash with the monarch.
Kids have their own table
As posh as it sounds, Royal kids have their own table with their own turkey and sides served in a separate room from the grown-ups where they are watched by nannies.
Apparently, Queen Elizabeth is not fond of some kiddo throwing peas or tantrums at the Christmas dinner.
Every guest should be weighed before and after dinner
This might sound weird, but the Royal family has this tradition where every guest to the Christmas dinner has to be weighed. The purpose? To ensure guests were well-fed and enjoyed every dish that was served.
This tradition began during Edward VII’s reign, between 1901 to 1910 and until this day, the antique scales are still used.
They give each other prank gifts
Another tradition introduced by Prince Albert is the exchange of gifts, however, the Royal family not only give themselves meaningful presents but joke ones as well.
Apparently, they laid in tables all presents and each member opens theirs on Christmas Day after tea. One of the most famous has been the one Kate gave to Harry before he met Meghan that consisted of a kit “to grow your own girlfriend”.
