Controversial Sandringham Christmas Mishaps, Competitions & Contests

British royal family news reveals that Christmas is a time for laughter and love with family. Each year the royals gather at Sandringham for a festive holiday with loved ones, but not every year has been without mishaps.

This year 45 guests will be in attendance, making it the largest Windsor Christmas ever.
Here are a few memorable times the royal holiday went sideways, showing that the clan is just like (almost!) every other family on the planet.

Christmas Tree Down

Did you know that the late Queen Elizabeth decorated her own Christmas tree? Sandringham at Christmas is opulent with magnificent decorations and a soaring Christmas tree in the White Drawing Room.

In 2008 however, according to the Daily Mail, a mere half hour after the queen finished decorating the tree, it fell to the ground in a messy spill.

It seems that one of the royal aides tripped and fell right on the tree. We don’t think he was fired …
But that was a cakewalk compared to 1992, the year the queen termed a “annus horribilis.”

That year Windsor Castle was damaged by fire, and Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson broke up, plus King Charles and his first wife Diana separated. No doubt these failures cast a pall on the festivities.

Royal Christmas’ Past

Then there was the year that Queen Elizabeth’s favorite corgi died after being attacked by her daughter Princess Anne’s bull terrier.

The queen’s dogs were “almost like children to her” and the loss of any pet is traumatic. In this case, Pharos’ life was cut short in 2003.

Anne’s dog, Florence, allegedly savaged Pharos just minutes after coming to Sandringham. Although royal aides, as well as the queen and Anne, tried to intervene, Pharos was so injured that he had to be euthanized.

Royal Family News – Brotherly Love

King Charles and his brother Prince Edward once fought over who got the best Sandringham bedroom, despite there being over two dozen options!

The year was 1999 and Charles was made to give his favorite suite to Edward and his new bride, Sophie.

Charles was divorced and did not need the extra room, but he was allegedly livid that he couldn’t have his way. There was eventually a happy ending however, as in 2005 Charles and his second wife, Queen Camilla, were given his special suite.

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Monopoly is banned from Christmas at Sandringham and here’s why. Apparently Prince Andrew stated in 2008: “we are not allowed to play Monopoly at home” because “it gets too vicious.”

This was confirmed in September 2023 when Prince William and Kate, Princess Anne, and Mike Tindall appeared on the latter’s podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.

One of the hosts stated that “Mike has made out both of you are super, super competitive, a bit like Monica from Friends, and if you guys play table tennis it will go on for hours and hours, and be like, double or quits.”

Royal Family News – The Royals are Competitive

Kate replied “I’m really not that competitive, I don’t know where this has come from” but giggled and said she and William have never finished a game of tennis as “it becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.”

Do any of these holiday bruhahas sound familiar to you royal fans?

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Photo by CaptureLight – Deposit Photos