She was the queen who made her mark on
Christmas. So much of how we celebrate the festive season began in
the Victorian era and the monarch who gave her name to that time
left intricate records of how she celebrated. In this special
series, Royal Central looks at some of the most important of them
and discovers how Queen Victoria celebrated Christmas. The
Christmas of 1832 is the first recorded…
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s beloved
consort, was an eager skater who loved winter sports as part of
enduring royal pleasure. Not only did he drive the Queen’s sledge
when the royal couple were visiting Brighton during a sudden
snowfall, but he also enjoyed charming…
Romance and intrigue: the fascinating stories of royal Christmas babies
12th December 2022
The Christmas story begins, of course,
with a baby and there’s something about a Christmas birthday that
makes it all the more interesting, even if mean relatives do double
up on presents. Some of the most intriguing royal stories of all
have begun on Christmas Eve…
Each family has its own Christmas
tradition, and royal families are no exception. The Spanish Royal
Family starts Christmas festivities by releasing their Christmas
cards earlier in December that they will be sending out to those
who send them holiday cards over the festive period. King Felipe,
Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía have their
signatures printed on their card, while…
If Edward VIII hadn't abdicated, would Charles III have ever been king?
11th December 2022
On December 10th 1936, King Edward VIII
signed an Instrument of Abdication which ended his brief reign. As
his pen moved across the paper, his Crown passed to his brother who
became King George VI. Almost eighty years later, George’s grandson
is now Charles III. He…
A fourteenth-century Anglican church in
the Somerset parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge is not perhaps
the place where you might expect to find several remnants from the
lost Palace of Whitehall, the main London residence of England’s
monarchs until 1698. A second…
Every year, the Norwegian King and Queen
celebrate Christmas at the grand royal lodge called “Kongsseteren”
in the expensive neighbourhood of Holmenkollen in Oslo. Let us take
a look at this magnificent royal property. “Kongsseteren”, formerly
called The Kings Villa, is a property and timber lodge which is
under the Norwegian Royal Family’s private ownership. The property
is mainly…
Queen Victoria’s winter sledge became
synonymous with the Windsor Christmas, at least during the lifetime
of Prince Albert, who is rightly credited with popularising
Christmas traditions in England, including that of the Christmas
tree. The royal trees were decorated with…
It’s a monarchy known for glitz and
glamour, but one of the biggest and best Christmas traditions in
Monaco is actually quite sweet and heartwarming. Started by
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier in the 1950s, the Christmas Gifts
DistributionParty takes place at…
Prince Albert is generally credited with
introducing the Christmas tree to Britain, but in fact, it was the
work of his wife’s grandmother, Queen Charlotte. Like Prince
Albert, Charlotte was born and raised in Germany, where the
tradition of bringing a tree inside at Christmas time, decorated
with lights and sweets, is believed to date back to the 16th
century. As a child, Charlotte’s family…
