It’s a cosy room, designed for family get togethers rather than great matters of state, but a strange twist in world events has suddenly made it a place of real history.
The room at Sandringham where King Charles met Vlodomyr Zelensky at the end of a weekend that had started with a huge row between the President of Ukraine and the US President, Donald Trump, is now the focus of global attention as the setting for an important encounter in an ever changing situation.
The two met met in the Saloon at Sandringham which sounds like a pub that opens at 9am and serves breakfast all day but which is, in fact, one of the favourite places of the Royal Family.
King Charles and President Zelensky were photographed in front of a roaring fire, set under a stone mantle, with a very comfortable looking squishy sofa right behind them. There’s also what appears to be the world’s biggest pot plant growing steadily up one of the wood panelled walls. This royal room is full of very personal touches.
And that’s no surprise. Sandringham is a place for family get togethers. It’s where the Windsors spend the festive season and the Saloon is understood to be the place they gather for afternoon tea on Christmas Eve. It’s also the setting for evening gatherings when the family are all at the Norfolk estate.
(i-Images / Pool)
The Saloon is on the ground floor of Sandringham and as well as its extensive floor space, it also has a minstrel’s gallery which was added to provide room for musicians when the space was used as a ballroom
The dancing this weekend was of a diplomatic kind as King Charles welcomed President Zelensky to the house for a private meeting soon after the end of a hastily convened summit in London, focused on support for Ukraine and finding an end to the war in the country that guarantees the nation’s future security. It’s understood that President Zelesnky asked for the meeting and that The King accepted after consultation with the government.
King Charles and Vlodomyr Zelensky have met several times before and the Royal Family has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and its people since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The morning after that meeting, King Charles welcomed the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to Sandringham where the two men met – in the Saloon.
The room contains a huge portrait of Elizabeth II while Sandringham was, of course, the final home of King George VI who died there on February 6 1952 and who won huge admiration for his leadership of the nation in World War Two.
Of note in the scenes released of King Charles III’s audiences there this weekend is the very clear image of a photo of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, The King’s beloved granny who was such a big influence on him. Hitler called her the ‘most dangerous woman in Europe’, such was her understanding of politics and popular support. Royal history as a backdrop to royal reality in a room that is now suddenly very important indeed.
