King Charles 'furious' over canceled Christmas tradition

King Charles (left). Credit: Getty Images

The Royal Family has any number of traditions going back centuries.

Queen Elizabeth II held firmly to the majority of them, and it looked as though King Charles was set to the same (despite wanting to modernize the monarchy).

One of them centers around Christmas, which has always been the same for the royals. Now, though, it appears as though one key tradition could go missing. That, according to an expert, has left King Charles furious, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

The members of the Royal Family have a hectic schedule all year round. Sure, they get some weeks off during the summer, but it’s during Christmas that they get to be completely cut off from the public eye and enjoy each other’s company.

Just as millions of people worldwide, the Royal Family has their own Christmas traditions that go back many years. While some have changed over the decades, others have remained. Moreover, it might come as a surprise that a couple royal traditions aren’t really “royal” at all, but rather similar to any other family’s.

The royals have always spent the Christmas holidays at their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Queen Elizabeth would travel there by train, before sending out approximately 750 Christmas cards every year to her family, friends, and other members of the royal household and government officials, a tradition that King Charles and Prince William have continued.

Some years ago, Darren McGrady, the former personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, as well as Prince William and Prince Harry, gave royal fans an insight into how Christmas is celebrated at Sandringham, particularly in terms of the food they eat.

“The first time the royals congregate on Christmas Eve is for afternoon tea at 4 pm, often in the ornate Sandringham saloon under its exquisitely painted ceiling,” McGrady wrote in the Daily Mail in 2016. “It involves a large cake, usually a ginger cake or honey and cream sponge; a fruit cake would clash with the following day’s Christmas cake. Small cakes and scones feature alongside finger sandwiches (crusts off, served in squares) filled with ham and English mustard, Sage Derby cheese, and Branston Pickle or Coronation chicken, with a pot of Earl Grey tea.”

The Royal Christmas

“Then, in a German tradition called Heiligabend Bescherung, they will open their presents. The gifts, jokey and inexpensive rather than lavish, are piled on trestle tables alongside name tags. This is one of the few times that the children will be permitted to join the adults.”

After gifts are exchanged on Christmas morning, the royals attend a church service at St Mary Magdalene. Many years ago, the family members drove to church, but Queen Elizabeth enjoyed the walk so much that it became the new normal.

The walkabout on Christmas Day has become a beloved royal tradition, which is the only “duty” the family members engage in during the holidays. Outside the church, royal fans can engage with the royals and hand the children gifts. Last year, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis could hardly carry all the teddy bears and candy well-wishers handed to them.

Darren McGrady continued: “After church, that’s when they have a big lunch that includes a salad with shrimp or lobster, and a roasted turkey, and all of your traditional side dishes like parsnips, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and Christmas pudding with brandy butter for dessert. They stick with the same meal year after year.

“Afterward, they all go their own way before coming together again for afternoon tea and traditional Christmas fruitcake, then they gather again in the evening, where a buffet dinner with 15-20 different items awaits them. It’s always a buffet with the chefs at the table carving. They don’t do appetizers on Christmas like many do here in the U.S. Instead, appetizers and canapes are reserved for New Year’s Eve.”

King Charles and the royals exchange ‘fun gifts’

The Royal Family has a formal dinner on Christmas Eve, often including Norfolk shrimp and lamb. In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry also revealed some details about how Christmas at Sandringham is celebrated.

“We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents,” the now estranged prince wrote. “Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.”

Though King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton might seem quite strict in public, the Royal Family members also have a very playful side. As for Christmas, the royals are reported to have one fun tradition. Besides handing each other “ordinary” gifts, they also exchange gifts that are intended to provoke laughter.

Over the years, several “gag presents” have been handed to the family members. In 2016, Kate reportedly gave Harry a “Grow Your Own Girlfriend” kit before he met Meghan, and William once gave the now-late queen a pair of personalized slippers with her face.

While it appears as if all the Royal Family does at Christmas is eat, sit, and open gifts, there is a more active tradition as well. The pheasant shoot on Boxing Day has been a beloved tradition for years within the Royal Family, although it has also received criticism from animal welfare groups.

King Charles ‘furious’ over possibly having to cancel annual Boxing Day pheasant shoot

On that note, it appears as if King Charles and the other fans of the pheasant shoot interested within the royal circle might have to get themselves a new Christmas hobby.

The Sun reports that King Charles has been told that he might be forced to cancel his annual holiday shoot this year as there aren’t enough birds. King Charles reportedly had the opportunity to import birds from elsewhere for the traditional hobby but opposed it.

Charles is known to be a big supporter of wildlife, and as other bird populations have declined at the estate, so have the pheasants. A source told The Sun that King Charles was livid about the news.

“It was a total cock-up. No birds, no bang, just red faces,” the source said. “The King wasn’t having it.”

Moreover, a long-serving gamekeeper who is responsible for managing the bird population at Sandringham is said to have been let go.

“Let’s just say he’s well and truly plucked off,” the source added.