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Sandringham is a place which inspires strong affection. “Dear old Sandringham,” wrote King George V, “the place I love better than anywhere else in the world.” His son, King George VI, was equally enthusiastic, writing to his mother, Queen Mary: “I have always been happy here and I love the place.” And today it remains a favourite Royal residence. The Queen traditionally spends January at Sandringham each year, and the Royal Family regularly spend Christmas there.
Situated in rural Norfolk, eastern England, Sandringham is a private Royal residence. Like Balmoral, it is privately owned by The Queen in her own right, and not held in trust as Sovereign.
Although a Royal residence for only 150 years, Sandringham abounds in history and interest. It has seen the death of two monarchs in Sandringham House; suffered its share of wartime tragedy; been the venue for the first ever Christmas Broadcast; and supports activities as diverse as fruit farming and tourism.
The story begins in 1862. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, was looking for a country home for his eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, before his twentieth birthday. The idea was to find a healthy location for his young son to retreat to when duties allowed, away from the distractions of the city.
Before a decision had been reached, the Prince Consort died suddenly of typhoid in December 1861. It was left up to his eldest son to conclude the house-hunt. After paying a visit to Sandringham on 3 February 1862, the Prince of Wales was impressed enough to have decided by the end of the day that he wanted to buy the house. For the house and furnishings, the Prince paid £220,000.
Sandringham's first role was as a home for newly-weds. Prince Albert Edward married Princess Alexandra of Denmark on 10 March 1863, and they travelled to Norfolk eighteen days later.
The young couple made many extensions and improvements to the house and estate, including the construction of new roads, the rebuilding of cottages and landscaping. A new garden wall was built to accommodate the magnificent gift of the famous Norwich Gates - spectacular ironwork gates designed by Thomas Jekyll and presented as a wedding gift by the people of Norwich and Norfolk.
Most important of all, it became obvious that the existing house was not suitable for large social gatherings and a growing family, so the Prince of Wales rebuilt it completely.
As home to the heir to the throne and his wife, Sandringham was venue to many glittering occasions. Social life ranged from visits by Heads of State (1881, 1899 and 1902 by Kaiser Wilhelm) to informal retreats by the Royal Family. Three times a year there was a ball - for the gentry, for the farmer and for the servants.
Prime ministers were occasional visitors. Benjamin Disraeli paid his first visit to Sandringham in 1873, and wrote of it: “I was agreeably disappointed with Sandringham. It is not commonplace - both wild and stately. I fancied I was paying a visit to some of the dukes and princesses of the Baltic; a vigorous marine air, stunted fir forests, but sufficiently extensive, the roads and all appurtenances on a great scale, and the splendour of Scandinavian sunsets.”
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Prince George (far right, later George V) with his children: from left to right, Prince Albert (later George VI), Princess Mary, Prince Edward (later Edward VIII) and Prince Henry of Wales |
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One of the main activities at Sandringham was shooting. The Prince of Wales made Sandringham into an outstanding shooting estate, through the rearing of pheasants and partridges and careful treatment of their environment. He liked to be outdoors as much as possible and he devised the idea of ST - Sandringham Time. The idea was to make the most of the winter daylight hours for his passion for shooting and so the clocks all over the Sandringham Estate were advanced by half an hour. King George V maintained this custom during his lifetime, but King Edward VIII abolished it on his accession in 1936.
Sandringham was also setting for other kinds of entertainment. In January 1885 the celebrations for the coming of age of the Prince and Princess of Wales' youngest son, Prince Albert Victor, was held at Sandringham. In his honour a special circus performance was laid on, with the big top set up in Sandringham Park. The day ended with an appearance by a popular comedian of the day, J. L. Toole, in the house's new ballroom.
For Queen Victoria's only formal visit to Sandringham in 1887, the ballroom was turned into a theatre for performers including Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. When the Prince of Wales became King Edward VII, he too organised theatricals there.
But Sandringham was also the setting for some dramatic and tragic events. Queen Victoria did not pay her first visit to Sandringham until 1871, when the Prince of Wales suffered a serious attack of typhoid fever (the illness of which his father had died) while staying there. To the relief of Queen Victoria and the nation, the Prince survived and made a slow recovery.
The eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales was not so lucky 21 years later. Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, in the direct line of succession, fell ill at Sandringham shortly after celebrating his 28th birthday there. He died on 14 January 1892 after a violent bout of influenza. A commemorative tablet on the east front marks the small room where he died.
Sandringham became the home to a second Royal couple when Prince George, the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales and by then heir to the throne, married Princess May of Teck, the fiancée of the late Duke of Clarence. They moved into a house on the estate which came to be known as York Cottage.
One of Prince George's innovations at Sandringham was the founding of the first Royal pigeon loft in 1886. Almost annually several were entered in international contests; pigeons from the Royal lofts also saw active service with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The lofts were moved in the 1960s to other sites in Norfolk, returning to Sandringham in the early 1990s, where they continue today.
Despite being able to spend less time at Sandringham after his accession in 1901, King Edward VII's interest in the estate never waned, and he continued to make improvements all his life. Following his death in 1910, Sandringham was left to Queen Alexandra, who continued to live there in the 'Big House' in her widowhood until her death in 1925. The new King George V and Queen Mary continued to live in the much smaller York Cottage whenever they visited the estate.
The First World War sowed death and destruction even in sleepy Sandringham. On 19 January 1915 Zeppelin L45 crossed the North Sea on the first raid of the war, and several bombs landed on and around the Royal estate. One of the craters filled with water; King George VI later had it enlarged and turned into a duck pond.
Like many villages, towns and communities across Britain, the community of the estate suffered its own wartime tragedy. The Sandringham Company, led by Frank Beck, the King's Agent, was wiped out in the Battle of Gallipoli in August 1915. Trapped in a field which suddenly burst into flames, possibly due to a stray shell, the entire company was killed. In 1920 King George V, Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary unveiled a cross and tablet on the greensward outside Sandringham Church, bearing the names of the fallen.
King George V's reign also saw the birth of a new Christmas tradition at Sandringham. The first Christmas broadcast to the Empire was made live on Christmas Day, 1932, from the Sandringham's 'business-room'. History was made again in 1957 when The Queen made her first televised broadcast live on Christmas Day from Sandringham's library.
King George V died at Sandringham on 20 January 1936, and Sandringham passed to his eldest son. In his brief reign King Edward VIII spent less than one day at Sandringham. After his abdication, he retained rights to Sandringham and Balmoral, since both estates are held privately and not as Sovereign. Under a financial settlement the two estates were transferred to his brother, the new King George VI.
King George VI loved Sandringham as much as his father had done, spending many happy months on the estate. He spent his first Christmas as king there in 1936. Having been born there in York Cottage, he also died at Sandringham House, passing away in his sleep on the night of 6 February 1952. His coffin lay in the small church of St. Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, watched over in a round-the-clock vigil by Sandringham gamekeepers before being taken to London and then to Windsor for interment.
The Queen's attachment to Sandringham has remained as strong as that of her father, grandfather and great-grandfather. The first visit by Princess Elizabeth to Sandringham was Christmas 1926, aged just eight months, when she visited her grandparents King George V and Queen Mary.
From that time the Princess made regular visits to Sandringham. During the Second World War she and her sister were often resident on the Sandringham estate, living at Appleton House. In 1943 Princess Elizabeth was featured in newspapers helping with the harvest.
During her stays at Sandringham, The Queen takes a keen interest in the life of the estate, local community and the county itself. When spending Christmas at Sandringham The Queen and the Royal Family traditionally attend church at St. Mary Magdalene. Although it is a quiet period for The Queen, she often undertakes engagements nearby, presenting prizes at Norfolk schools or visiting local hospitals or military bases. A long-standing fixture has been a visit to the Sandringham Women's Institute each January - undertaken almost every year with the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. As on previous Accession anniversaries, on the 50th anniversary of her Accession last year The Queen chose to spend it at Sandringham, visiting a cancer unit in The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in nearby King's Lynn.
Today Sandringham is also an important base for two of The Queen's interests - dogs and horses.
The Queen's labradors are bred and kept in Sandringham Kennels. Royal kennels date back to 1879, when King Edward VII built kennels on the southern boundary of the grounds of Sandringham House. Queen Alexandra possessed many breeds of dog, including the Sandringham strain of black labradors founded in 1911. King George V reintroduced the Clumber breed of spaniels, originally started by King Edward VII at Sandringham. Within the grounds of Sandringham is a burial ground for some of the much-loved dogs of previous monarchs.
Today's kennels take the form of wooden kennels with chain-link fencing runs, accommodating a total of approximately 20 dogs, including Labradors and springer and cocker spaniels. The Queen's retired Head Keeper is responsible for the dogs. Since The Queen's accession in 1952, the breeding programme has gone from strength to strength. All the puppies born at Sandringham are named by The Queen and are registered at the Kennel Club with the prefix Sandringham.
The Sandringham Stud is equally celebrated. Established by the future Edward VII in 1886, the stud farm soon became an influential one, producing champions right from the start. The number of boxes is 130.
The delights of Sandringham are by no means exclusively for the Royal Family. For much of the year there is public access to the house, museum, gardens and park. It gives visitors a chance to appreciate why the Royal Family, past and present, have loved Sandringham so much.
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