In most households Christmas inevitably means a race to get organised in time for the big day - unless, of course, you live in Buckingham Palace where preparations began in March. Just before Easter the Queen's staff received a letter asking what was on their wish list.
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Not that the 550 members of the monarch's staff have carte blanche to go wild with fantasies of buying up Harrods. "A couple of conditions apply," reveals royal biographer, Brian Hoey.
Gifts range from £28 for the most junior employees to a maximum of £35 for longer-serving staff members. One footman, who's been there for 28 years, has been collecting a dinner service, one plate at a time, which, he reckons, will be complete by the end of the next decade.
Employees can then expect to receive their gift in an official present-giving ceremony. "Their names are called up by the Lord Chamberlain and they come forward to meet the Queen," adds writer Brian."They thank her saying it is exactly what they wanted."
The tradition is part of a festive routine that has been followed for the last 50 years. Other customs include the arrival of family members at the Sandringham estate by order of precedence, with most junior members invited to turn up first.
Presents, which tend to be modest tokens of affection, are opened at tea-time on Christmas Eve, with Prince Philip presiding. On Christmas Day the family sit down to a black-tie dinner - the ladies wear tiaras - before playing charades. And no one is allowed to go to bed until Her Majesty retires. |
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